Abstract
No uniform treatment for infantile lymphangioma, which is often encountered in routine examinations in pediatric surgery, has yet been established, and the treatment of cases oftern presents is great difficulty.
Infantile lymphangioma was therefore studied in 88 patients (101 sites). Lesions of the cervix occurred at the highest incidence (in 41 patients), and most of them had cystic hygroma. In 27% of the patients, the lymphangioma had advanced and coexisted in the mediastinum, oral cavity, axilla and arms. Another 27% of the patients had such dangerous complications as infection, dyspnea and dysphagia, necessitating emergency treatment. Four of nine patients with lesions of the abdominal region were brought to hospital with ileus. Surgical excision was performed in 77 patients, 23 of whom were also treated with bleomycin. Seven patients were treated with bleomycin alone, and four showed spontaneous disappearance of the lesion. Based on this study, it seems necessary for the degree of invasion of lymphangioma to peripheral sites, complications and age to be taken into account in selecting therapeutic procedures and determining the time to begin treatment.
