Abstract
There are various methods in the medical treatment of hemangioma. Particularly hemangioma of the face requires medical treatment with the aesthetic aspect taken into consideration.
A 1-month-old girl with a red spot lesion in the upper lip was referred to the Chiba Children's Hospital. At first, it appeared as 3 pinhead-sized spots, and the clinical diagnosis made was a strawberry mark. Observations on the changes in the lesion were continued. The lesion increased in size and occupied two thirds of the lip at 8 months of age. She was histologically diagnosed as having capillary hemangioma of the upper lip at 8 months of age. As the size of the tumor increased, intralesional injection of absolute ethanol was planned and the endpoint of the treatment was set at blanching and shrinkage of the hemangioma. Ethanol at a dose of 0.4 ml was injected into the tumor at 11 months of age.
Ethanol at a dose of 0.7 ml was used at 1 year and 2 months of age. Afterwards, the injection of ethanol was given 4times with doses ranging from 1.1 to 2 ml. With these treatments, the tumor was blanched and shrunk gradually, but a slight bulge of the upper lip remained. Plastic surgery of the upper lip was performed at 3 years and 8 months of age. Therefore, with this operation, the lip became symmetrical and there was no paresthesia of the lip. Presently, at 11 years of age, no relapse was found.
Intralesional injection of absolute ethanol is useful in the treatment of hemangioma.
