Capillary Infantile Hemangiomas

Capillary hemangiomas of infancy are the most common benign orbital neoplasms in children. Historically, they have been referred to by many names such as infantile hemangiomas, juvenile hemangiomas, hemangioblastomas or strawberry nevi. Currently, the universal vocabulary of capillary hemangioma is followed. Initially, these vascular anomalies were classified as angiomas by John Mulliken and Julie Glowacki , as early as 1982: they were thought to be proliferating lesions with an independent life cycle. However, these classifications have undergone several revisions. Capillary hemangiomas have been reclassified as benign vascular neoplasms as per the revised International Society for the study of vascular anomalies (ISSVA). According to this classification, hemangiomas are benign neoplasms which are true tumors that arise de novo and undergo clonal proliferation and growth out of proportion to the patient. These lesions have a predictable life cycle and most often do not require any treatment in the absence of complications. This is in contrast to the other category of vascular malformations which often present at birth, undergo slow growth and persist into adult life.