Local injection of steroids for juvenile hemangiomas which disturb the visual axis.

Steroids have been used sine 1967 for the treatment of hemangiomas and for orbital hemangiomas since 1970. These were systemically administered which caused concern because of the possible systemic side effects. In 1979. Kushner described local injection of steroids in the eyelid of infants where an hemangioma obstructed the visual axis or refractive error was induced by pressure from the lesion. Five cases of lid hemangioma were treated using this method with varying degrees of success (possibly depending on percentage of mix of the tumor, capillary vs. cavernous). There were no measurable deleterious effects from the injections after a two-year follow-up.