Research progress on the treatment of oral and maxillofacial hemangioma

Abstract

Hemangioma is the most common vascular benign tumor in infants and young children, 60% of which oc⁃ cur in the oral maxillo⁃facial region. One characteristic of oral and maxillofacial hemangioma is spontaneous regression, which generally does not require treatment; however, a few hemangiomas can produce complications including ulcer⁃ ation, functional disorders and disfigurement, which require active treatments. Currently, the treatment of oral and maxil⁃ lofacial hemangioma include drug treatment, laser treatment and surgical treatment. The drugs used to treat hemangio⁃ ma mainly include beta blockers, glucocorticoids, alpha⁃interferon, imiquimod and antitumor drugs. Drug therapy is suit⁃ able for multiple, rapidly proliferating hemangiomas and hemangiomas that affect vital organ function or endanger life. Laser therapy can be applied to the early treatment of rapidly growing hemangiomas at exposed sites. Surgical treatment is suitable for proliferative hemangioma with serious complications, the reconstruction of any external deformity and the repair of a scar after an ulcer. Combined therapy and the development of new technologies provide new directions for the treatment of hemangioma but the efficacy remains to be proven by large sample prospective studies. Clinicians should appropriately evaluate the patients with hemangioma and develop individualized treatment programs for patients with treatment indications. This article reviews the efficacy, mechanism, clinical application and adverse reactions of dif⁃ ferent treatment methods and provides references for clinical treatment.

Keywords

• Oral and maxillofacial region
• Hemangioma
• Beta blocker
• Propranolol
• Glucocorticoid
• Laser treatment
• Infants and young children