An Initial Overview of Management and Treatment Outcomes for Head and Neck Hemangiomas

Abstract

Objective: To provide an initial overview of the outcomes of different treatment modalities used for hemangiomas.
 Methods:
 Design: Case Series
 Setting: Tertiary National University Hospital
 Participants: Records of 21 patients diagnosed with head and neck hemangiomas in the Philippine General Hospital Department of Otorhinolaryngology from 2009 to 2014 were reviewed.
 Results: Majority of the patients were female (61.9%) and in the pediatric age group (57.1%). Of the 21 patients, 6 underwent medical management, 13 had surgical management, 1 had both medical and surgical management, and 1 opted to observe the lesion. All patients treated with propranolol observed a decrease in the size of the lesion. Seven out of the 13 patients had radiofrequency ablation; all had gross residual lesion. Six of the 13 underwent excision, with complete excision being achieved in 5 of 6 cases.
 Conclusion: Treatment response of patients in this series with hemangiomas of the head and neck to propranolol at a dose of 1 to 2 mg/kg/day may reflect international data. Outcomes analysis for radiofrequency ablation and surgical excision requires a longer duration of follow-up.
 
 Keywords: propranolol hydrochloride, prednisone, pulsed radiofrequency treatment, capillary hemangioma, vascular tissue neoplasms