Objective: To present current information on the diagnosis, pathogenesis, natural history, and treatment of infantile hemangiomas.
Methods: Literature review.
Results: Infantile hemangiomas are the most common vascular tumors of childhood. They are thought to be derived from embolized placental progenitor cells that lodge in privileged sites of the developing embryo. They exhibit a characteristic postnatal course with defined periods of growth and regression.
Conclusions: Multimodality intervention involving observation, medical therapy, laser photocoagulation, and surgery is the accepted modern approach. Timing of the intervention to obtain the best possible results in concert with developmental milestones is the goal. "Leave it alone-it will go away" is no longer universally acceptable advice for infantile hemangiomas.