Round block excision and purse string closure of head & neck Hemangioma: Smallest possible scar1

Objective: to evaluate efficacy of round block excision and purse string closure for surgical management of hemangioma. place of study: department of pediatric plastic surgery,the children hospital and the institute of child health,lahore. hemangioma acts as a tissue expander but often leave scars and contour deformities after involution. surgeons may dispute indication and timing of surgery but most would agree that scar of resection should be minimized. round block excision and purse string closure at all stages of evolution leads to shortest possible scar and minimal distortion of anatomical landmarks. material and methods: forty patients of head and neck hemangioma underwent resection and purse string closure between may 2011 to may 2013. the scar size was measured at follow up visits and final scar was calculated as a percentage reduction of original size of hemangioma. most common locations were scalp,cheek,forehead,eyebrows results: median area of hemangioma was 721mm2. follow up measurements were evaluated with in 35 hemangioms. median area of purse string scar was 140mm2 median reduction was 80.6%. conclusion: round block excision and purse string closure gives excellent results with shortest scar and minimal distortion of anatomical landmarks and can be used as a default method of treatment of hemangioma. © 2007 pakistan pediatric journal. all rights reserved.