Oral propranolol as a new treatment for facial infantile hemangioma: case report.

Hemangiomas are the most common benign tumors of infancy. Despite their self-limited course, infantile capillary hemangiomas can impair vital or sensory functions as vision and cause cosmetic deformity. The usual treatments include oral/intralesional steroids, alpha interferon, cytotoxins, pulsed dye laser and cosmetic surgery resection. These treatments are not free of multiple complications and toxic side effects. This report describes the case of a 3-month-old female baby with progressively increasing hemangioma of the left upper eyelid impinging over the visual field. The hemangioma promptly responded to low-dose oral propranolol. A clinical response was noticed few days after the beginning of the treatment, with regression to 1/4 of its original size in 45 days of treatment, and to less than 1/10 after 8 months, free of any major side effects.