The importance of early surgery in preventing the esthetic sequelae of cervicofacial mucocutaneous hemangiomas in children]

Infants with cutaneous hemangiomas are classically managed medically, well-defined surgery being planned for esthetic correction at the age of 8 to 10 years. We present a series of 65 cases of early surgery in children with head and neck cutaneous or mucosal hemangiomas where irreversible and unesthetic scars were predictable. The surgical procedure was simple and the cosmetic result was better than could be expected after late surgery, limiting psychological consequences. In our opinion, the abstention rule should be changed. A multidisciplinary check-up at 2 years to identify cases with a predictably unesthetic scar after complete resolution of the angioma would help select cases where early surgical correction, taking advantage of the exceptional quality of skin in these young children, would be most beneficial.