The Nonrandom Distribution of Facial Hemangiomas

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Abstract
INFANTILE HEMANGIOMAS are the most common tumors of infancy and affect between 10% and 12% of all white children.1 The prevalence among Asian and black infants is, however, considerably less.2 Most infantile hemangiomas involve the head and neck, and female infants are affected more commonly than male infants by at least 3-fold.3,4 Hemangiomas are usually not present at birth, proliferate by cellular hyperplasia during the first year, and then involute.5 As many as 30% of lesions may be evident at the time of birth, usually as relatively inconspicuous, so-called precursor lesions, but their natural history is identical to those lacking any congenital sign, that is, proliferation during the first year of life, followed by involution. This clinical behavior sharply contrasts with that of vascular malformations, which are always present at birth, do not proliferate, and never involute.5 Malformations follow a static path or grow episodically at ages not restricted to the first year of life.