Name

Intérêt des corticoïdes topiques dans l’hémangiome conjonctival palpébral de l’enfant

To evaluate the efficacy of topical dexamethasone in infantile palpebral conjunctival hemangiomas.

A series of two children who underwent anterior segment photographs and orbital ultrasound.

Two four-year old girls complained about an intense foreign body sensation and photophobia. Ophtalmological examination disclosed a pedunculated capillary hemangioma arising from superior palpebral conjunctiva in a child and the inferior in the secund child. Both patients underwent Doppler orbital ultrasound which confirmed the diagnosis of a benign vascular tumor. They have been put under topical dexamethasone for three weeks resulting in spectacular lesion size reduction and regression of the distressing symptoms. 

Infantile hemangiomas (IH), benign vascular neoplasms, are the most common tumors of childhood. Many pharmacotherapeutic approaches have been proposed in this pathology. Corticosteroids have long been considered the mainstay of medical therapy for IH, despite the emergence of new effective therapies such as topical Timolol.

Infantile hemangiomas are a frequent pathology in children. Differentiating it from other benign lesions such as chalazion is of paramount importance in order to provide an adequate treatment. In fact, the majority of them regress under medical treatment only (corticosteroids or B blockers). Only 10 % require surgery.