Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy of lip mucosa hemangiomas under inhalation general anesthesia with sevoflurane in early infancy.

Abstract

Mucous membrane hemangiomas of the lip are common benign vascular tumors of infancy. This clinical study evaluated the efficacy and safety of liquid nitrogen cryotherapy of mucous membrane hemangiomas of the lip in early infancy. It was a retrospective review of 127 pediatric patients with hemangiomas involving the lips who underwent liquid nitrogen cryotherapy under inhalation general anesthesia with sevoflurane. Forty-one males and 86 females were treated. The overall median age at diagnosis of the mucous membrane hemangiomas was 3.6 months (range, 7 days to 18 months). The oral mucous membrane hemangioma involved the vermilion of the lower lip in 78 cases (61.4%), the vermilion of the upper lip in 40 cases (31.5%), and both vermilions in 9 cases (7.1%). No complications because of anesthesia occurred. The mean follow-up was 10 months, with a range of 8 to 14 months; 94 lesions (74.0%) were completely involuted, 22 lesions (17.3%) were mostly involuted, 11 lesions (8.7%) were partially involuted, and no lesion showed a small amount of involution. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy is an effective, simple, and safe treatment for mucous membrane hemangiomas of the lip in early infancy.