prognosis
Last reviewed 07/2022
- life span of infantile haemangiomas can be divided into (1):
- rapid proliferative phase (0-1 year)
- slow involuting phase (1-7 years)
- involuted phase (8-12 years)
- virtually all infantile haemangiomas undergo spontaneous regression, which
is complete or almost complete in the great majority
- considerable variation in the rate of involution of individual lesions
- no evidence to suggest that deep lesions involute more slowly than superficial ones
- age at first appearance
- does not appear to affect materially the likely speed of resolution
- size of lesion
- smaller lesions probably resolve more rapidly
- early onset of resolution is generally associated with a more rapid disappearance and a superior cosmetic result
- with respect to superficial infantile haemagioma of the "strawberry"
type
- in majority of cases the lesion regresses completely by 4 or 5 years of age
- very little evidence to support the widely expressed theory that ulceration accelerates the initiation of resolution
- resolution of superficial infantile haemangiomas is heralded by the
appearance of focal areas of greyish opacification in the central part
of the surface
- foci gradually become confluent and extend towards the periphery of the lesion
- when resolution has ceased, the affected area may be perfectly normal, but commonly it shows subtle atrophy and telangiectasia
- in the case of larger superficial lesions and at certain sites, particularly the lips, eyelids, and upper chest a residual sac of redundant and atrophic skin commonly remains
- areas of previous ulceration frequently leave yellowish scars
- lesions in the scalp usually resolve without permanent alopecia in the affected area, unless previous ulceration has occurred
- infantile haemangiomas at certain sites appear particularly to regress particularly slowly and generally incompletely e.g. lesions on the nose (sometimes termed the 'Cyrano' or 'Pinocchio'nose), the lips and the parotid area
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