Propranolol for Infantile Hemangiomas

Hemangiomas are common vascular birthmarks that usually present a predictable pattern of proliferation and ultimate involution. Most do not require any treatment. When intervention is clinically indicated, medical and surgical options exist. Historically, corticosteroids have been used and have been shown to slow or stop the growth of a majority of hemangiomas; however, growth concerns and infectious complications have complicated their use. In 2008, a letter to the editor in The New England Journal of Medicine described another serendipitous observation of the effect of the nonselective beta-blocker, propranolol, on hemangiomas in 9 cases. This finding has been expanded by the authors of this original observation as well as others.