Infantile Hemangiomas with Minimal or Arrested Growth - Do They Occur More Often in Premature Infants Than It Seemed?

Infantile hemangiomas with minimal or arrested growth (IH-MAGs) are a subtype of infantile hemangiomas (IHs), characterized by absent or minimal (equal or less than 25% of the total IH surface area) proliferation. They are less conspicuous than classical IHs, but can also be complicated by ulceration or can be misdiagnosed as capillary malformations. The literature on IH-MAGs is scarce, but with increasing interest in the literature. We investigated the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of IH-MAGs in a retrospective series of cases found in a regional tertiary-care pediatric clinic during a 7-year period. Eleven infants with 14 IH-MAGs were included in the analysis. There were 7 girls and 4 boys. Unlike the majority of other authors, we have found 7 premature and 4 full-term infants in our case series. Most of the IH-MAGs were classified as focal (78.57%), were present at birth (72.72%), and were located on the lower body, below the waist line (71.42%). In almost all infants, erythematous background as well as vasoconstricted patches and/or halos were present, while fine or coarse telangiectasias were observed mainly in full-term infants. A subtle proliferative component was observed in only one case on follow-ups. There were no ulcerations. The therapy - topical and oral beta-blocker - was introduced in two cases of IH-MAGs in the face region. Clinical characteristics of IH-MAGs in our case series were similar to those found in other studies on this subject. However, we found a significantly higher percentage of premature infants with IH-MAGs than in any available reference.