Early Surgical Treatment of Hemangiomas in Functional Areas

In spite of the numerous advances made over the last two decades, the treatment of hemangiomas continues to be one of the greatest enigmas facing modern medicine. There are no clear criteria concerning the indications to be followed and even less concerning the most appropriate therapeutic procedures for each type of lesion. The end result of involution is potentially worse than the scarring that would occur with surgery. Thus, surgical intervention is commonly indicated only if the growth is life threading or highly problematic from a medical or psychological point of view. For example lesion growth that affect the ability of the eye to see, the ear to hear, or the passage of air in and out of the lungs are frequently candidates for surgical treatment. This paper reviews the general principles of surgical treatment of facial and scalp hemangiomas without losing sight of the fact that the traditional surgical treatment should not be considered as an independent tool of treatment but as a therapeutic weapon improving the quality of life of the patient with hemangioma.