HEMANGIOMA TONGUE: AN UNUSUAL PRESENTATION

Abstract

Hemangiomas are benign vascular tumours that arise from vascular tissue cell types. Hemangiomas generally appear on Face, Lips, Tongue, Scalp, skin of Cheeks, Neck and Head-Neck region and they may occur throughout the body. They generally appear in rst year of life and generally present as a Red mark anywhere on the body. They have a tendency of growth for about one year and then they regress as the child gets older. A Hemangioma generally required treatment when they obscure Airway and inict mass effect on other tissues. There are several types of Hemangiomas viz., Capillary, Cavernous, Mixed, Racemose, Strawberry, Sponge. The diagnosis of hemangiomas is largely clinical where a clinician can diagnose hemangioma in clinical examination and no further investigations are required. The Hemangiomas occurring in Liver and other body organs warrant a full workup and investigations including Skiagrams, USG, Computed tomography scanning and Contrast Enhanced MRI. The contrast accumulation in the hemangiomas themselves excellently demonstrates the Size, Location and extend of the Hemangiomas. The Hemangiomas are generally never subjected to biopsy due to the risk of bleeding. Generally the management involves the use of topical Beta-blocker solution and Propranolol oral suspension in children having Strawberry birthmarks, These supercial hemangioms disappear after about 1 year of continued treatment. The adverse effects of Beta blockers are high blood sugar, low blood pressure and wheezing. In those patients where beta blockers are not effective the topical solution of corticosteroids may be an option. In some cases LASER surgery has been tried to ablate and remove small hemangiomas. In cases where the hemangoima is present in an internal organ then removing the entire organ is also an option to be considered in treatment.