Current workup and therapy of infantile hemangiomas

Many practitioners assume every vascular lesion is a hemangioma; then tell parents not to worry, because hemangiomas “go away” after they grow. In fact, over the past three decades, advances in the stratification of vascular lesions, identification of clinical associations and syndromic vascular anomalies, and the discovery of germline and somatic mutations accompanying certain vascular anomalies have broadened our understanding. Concomitantly, the evaluation and management of vascular anomalies have become more sophisticated, and a laissez-faire approach is often inadequate. This paper focuses on hemangiomas of infancy and is divided into two sections, Evaluation and Management, both sections including updated references to clinical and basic research and reviews supporting the discussion.