Infantile Hemangiomas with Minimal and Arrested Growth: Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes with 0.5% Topical Timolol Maleate

Kyung-Nam Bae; Kihyuk Shin; Hoon-Soo Kim; Byung-Soo Kim; Moon-Bum Kim; Hyun-Chang Ko

doi:10.5021/ad.2021.33.5.448

Infantile Hemangiomas with Minimal and Arrested Growth: Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes with 0.5% Topical Timolol Maleate

Ann Dermatol. 2021 Oct;33(5):448-455. doi: 10.5021/ad.2021.33.5.448. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

Authors

Kyung-Nam Bae¹, Kihyuk Shin¹, Hoon-Soo Kim¹, Byung-Soo Kim¹, Moon-Bum Kim¹, Hyun-Chang Ko^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
² Department of Dermatology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Busan, Korea.
³ Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.

Abstract

Background: A minority of infantile hemangiomas showing minimal or arrested growth (IH-MAGs) have been recognized in the literature. Nevertheless, the clinical features and treatment outcomes of IH-MAGs have not been well investigated.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the clinical characteristics of IH-MAGs better and their response to treatment with topical timolol maleate.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records and clinical images of patients with IH-MAGs. Treatment response with topical timolol was assessed in both IH-MAGs and classic infantile hemangiomas (IHs) groups.

Results: Of the 1,038 patients with IHs, only 31 (3.0%) were diagnosed with IH-MAGs. Lesions with non-proliferative components were more frequently distributed in the lower half of the body (61.5%) than those with proliferative components (16.7%). In 14 patients treated with topical timolol, the global assessment scale showed more significant and rapid improvement than in those with classic IHs.

Conclusion: Although the prevalence of IH-MAGs may be relatively low, understanding their clinical features will help in differential diagnosis. Furthermore, these type of lesions might be more responsive to topical timolol than classic IHs.

Keywords: Blood vessel tumors; Infantile hemangioma; Infantile hemangioma with minimally and growth; Timolol.