Can a spinal hemangioma become malignant?
The diagnosis of vertebral hemangioma is very crucial and can be challenging in some cases. It may mimic malignant lesions in both clinical and radiological behavior [7]. Hemangiomas can be aggressive, compressing the spinal cord with paraparesis and spasticity as in our case.
How serious is a hemangioma?
These conditions can be life-threatening if they’re large or affect your child’s airway or another organ. A hemangioma can also be serious if it has uncontrollable bleeding. Depending on where your child’s growth is located, it may cause physical problems.
When should I be concerned about hemangiomas?
Treatment for a baby’s hemangioma (infantile hemangioma) usually isn’t needed as it fades over time. A child who has this condition during infancy usually has little visible trace of the growth by age 10. You may want to consider treatment if a hemangioma interferes with seeing, breathing or other functions.
How serious is a spinal hemangioma?
If left untreated, symptomatic hemangiomas can cause serious neurological effects. At UPMC, we treat hemangiomas with surgical removal (resection) of the tumor or the affected vertebra, and radiation therapy to treat pain. Ethanol injections and laminectomy may also be performed.
Do spinal hemangiomas go away?
Proliferation subsequently causes a displacement of bone and in rarer cases erosion into the spinal canal. Unlike infantile hemangiomas, hemangiomas of the spine do not spontaneously regress.
Can a hemangioma be cancerous?
Because hemangiomas very rarely become cancerous, most do not require any medical treatment. However, some hemangiomas can be disfiguring, and many people seek a doctor’s care for cosmetic reasons. In most cases of hemangioma, treatment does not involve surgery.
What causes a hemangioma in a baby?
Hemangiomas of the skin develop when there’s an abnormal proliferation of blood vessels in one area of the body. Experts aren’t sure why blood vessels group together like this, but they believe it’s caused by certain proteins produced in the placenta during gestation (the time when you’re in the womb).
Can a spinal hemangioma burst?
Complications, although rare, can infrequently occur. Pathologic burst fracture can be problematic considering these highly vascular lesions can subsequently bleed causing a hematoma and resultant cord compression.
What causes hemangiomas in spine?
Hemangiomas, Benign: Hemangiomas are non-cancerous (benign) tumors made of abnormal blood vessels. They are common and can occur anywhere in the body. Most hemangiomas of bone are in the spine and are found more often with advancing age.
Is a hemangioma a disability?
If these symptoms would prevent you from attending work regularly or cause you to need to rest away from the work station more often than is usually allowed in the work place, then you could be considered disabled for those reasons. This is true for any other body system that your hemangioma affects.
Are spinal hemangiomas painful?
Symptoms of spinal hemangioma Only 5% of people with a hemangioma have symptoms. They’re often discovered accidentally during an X-ray or other imaging test of your spine. When hemangioma symptoms do occur, they may include back pain, pain that radiates outward from your back and numbness or weakness.
What kind of tumor is an infantile hemangioma?
Nearly half of all children with an infantile hemangioma may be left with some scar tissue or extra blood vessels on the skin. Infantile hemangioma is the most common tumor that affects babies. Infantile hemangiomas are more common in girls than boys and are more common in Caucasian children.
When does an infantile hemangioma start to shrink?
Most of the shrinking for an infantile hemangioma happens by the time a child is 3 1/2 to 4 years old. Nearly half of all children with an infantile hemangioma may be left with some scar tissue or extra blood vessels on the skin.
What to do if your child has infantile hemangioma?
If a doctor thinks your child has an infantile hemangioma, he or she may use ultrasound to see more detail under the skin. In some cases, especially for large hemangiomas on the head and neck, the doctor may order an MRI to look at the infantile hemangioma, the brain and the blood vessels in the brain.
Can a hemangioma on the head cause problems?
A hemangioma may cause problems by: Also, a large hemangioma on the face can be associated with vascular anomalies in the brain. Infantile hemangiomas often grow on the head or neck, where they can’t easily be concealed by clothing. Sometimes, the appearance of a hemangioma can make a child the target of teasing or bullying.