Has anyone used propranolol for treating hemangioma?

flora · #1 (**permalink**) 01-24-2009

My kid's dermatologist just offered us to use propranolol to shrink the hemangioma and make the bump flatter. My kid is 16 months old and her hemangioma is compound strawberry and it is on her forehead. Has anyone have any experience of taking that? How long does it take to see the result? Have you experienced any side-effects? As Dr. said the hemangioma has stopped growing and it may start shrinking on its own. But we want to consider the option of medication as well. Thanks in advance for your help.

ladypam · #2 (**permalink**) 01-25-2009

Most hemangiomas are just left alone since they often shrink without any intervention. However, since this is on her forehead, it is advisable to do something about it. Steroids are usually the medication of choice, although surgery and laser can help. Propranolol is used for severe hemangiomas. Since what your baby has is more of a superficial one, then I don't think you would need it, especially at this young age. Most hemangiomas go away in a few weeks to months.

You may also want to ask a second opinion from another doctor on the right treatment.

Hope this helps.

christinac · #3 (**permalink**) 02-10-2009

My grandaughter has an 8 cm Hemangioma on the right side of her face within two months of birth. The cardiologist was asked to make sure her heart was not affected. It was not, however, he stated that he received propranolol for his grandaughter and it works. We then asked the pediatritian for it and that was back breaking. But after she spoke to the cardiologist she reluctlently agreed for two weeks. The hesitation is that there has not been enough testing for hemangiomas. Funny thing is the medication has been arounf for 40-50 years and the twelve babies that received it all cured. Additionally the only note is a few had lowered blood pressure, which is apparently what cuts off the blood flow to these growths. Steroids have side effects that can be major and surgery leaves scars for life. This drug was accidently found to work on hemangiomas when a doctor perscribed this medication to a set of twins with cardio issues, and had hemangiomas.
Major change within 24 hours. Try this website www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=90203 the story is there with the results you are looking for.
Thank you,
Christinac
I am not a doctor just passing info along. Also, search "Propranolol used for hemangiomas" There is much info including "The New England Medicine Journal"
Good Luck!!!

flora · #4 (**permalink**) 02-10-2009

Thank you for the site that you shared, it is so helpful. Thank you also for sharing the successful experience of our granddaughter. It's so kind of you.

lunachick · #5 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009

We just started my 3-month-old son on propanolol 6 days ago to treat multiple hemangiomas (he has 7 of them ranging from 1-2cm diameter.) They're not severe and would not normally be treated, but one is on his cheek and he has 3 others on top of his head, and I've been concerned he could bump or scratch them as he becomes more active.

Our pediatrician recommended we try propanolol, and last week I discussed it with my father-in-law, who is a cardiologist. He said propanolol is very safe for healthy people, and he recommended trying it.

We're seeing a dramatic difference already! The hemangiomas have faded, from a bright, deep red to a washed-out, ligher red color, and they're very soft now. My son's hands and feet are a little cool (since propanolol is a vasoconstrictor) but my father-in-law said his heart rate was fine and cool hands are nothing to worry about - just be glad he's being treated in the summer!

We started him on a low dose, 2mg/kg/day in divided doses, administered every 8 hours. I understand there' one trial underway at a 3-4mg/kg dose, but we started with the onservative amount and it seems to be working very well.

Mrs S · #6 (**permalink**) 08-11-2009

Originally Posted by lunachick

We just started my 3-month-old son on propanolol 6 days ago to treat multiple hemangiomas (he has 7 of them ranging from 1-2cm diameter.) They're not severe and would not normally be treated, but one is on his cheek and he has 3 others on top of his head, and I've been concerned he could bump or scratch them as he becomes more active.

Our pediatrician recommended we try propanolol, and last week I discussed it with my father-in-law, who is a cardiologist. He said propanolol is very safe for healthy people, and he recommended trying it.

We're seeing a dramatic difference already! The hemangiomas have faded, from a bright, deep red to a washed-out, ligher red color, and they're very soft now. My son's hands and feet are a little cool (since propanolol is a vasoconstrictor) but my father-in-law said his heart rate was fine and cool hands are nothing to worry about - just be glad he's being treated in the summer!

We started him on a low dose, 2mg/kg/day in divided doses, administered every 8 hours. I understand there' one trial underway at a 3-4mg/kg dose, but we started with the onservative amount and it seems to be working very well.

Hi,
My 10week old baby is going into Yorkhill hospital tomorrow to have this treatment. She has 5 hemangiomas. One of which is growing inside the ball of her nose and has made her nose turn a bluish colour. She also has a very red one growing on the skin between her nostrils. The other ones are on her body and knee. I am worried about the treatment.

Can you tell me if the Propranolol is given orally?

Will this treatment hurt her?

How soon would we expect to see a difference?

Will it make the marks completely disappear?

How is your 3 month old son now?

I really hope this treatment works for both our children. We were told that it would only work whilst the hemangioma was still growing. Were you told that?

Mrs S · #7 (**permalink**) 08-15-2009

This is just an update to let people know what has been happening to my baby. She was born with 3 hemangiomas that have become larger and lumpy as she has got older (now only 11 weeks old). She has developed a further 2 small ones since birth. She was born with a tiny red mark on her nose between her nostrils. This has now gotten bigger by about 10 times what it was although it is still small. It had also turned lumpy. She also developed one that grew underneath the skin on the ball of her nose turning it a bluish colour. On 12/08/09 she was admitted to Yorkhill Childrens Hosptial for treatment using Propranolol. After about the 4th dose (which is administered orally) the hemangioma between her nostrild turned a very dark blue/black and we could see that the one under the skin on the ball of her nose had done the same thing. The one between her nostrils then proceeded to turn back to red however it did not appear quite as red as it had done before This change repeated itself another couple of times. It was very odd but the Doctors in the ward said that this was a good sign. We are now at home and give the baby 3 doses a day of Propranolol. About 1 hour after each dose her hemangiomas (particularly the nose ones) turn a very dark blue/black for a while and change from being very hot to touch (when red) to very cold (when blue/black). There is also a difference in the appearance of the hemangioma on her nose. We are sure it looks smaller, less bumpy and less veiny! I hope we are not willing ourselves to see this! We are taking photographs of the changes on the one on her nose as this is the one that concerns us most. We are attending the Hospital again on Wednesday 19th August. All I can say is that 4 days on and things are looking very hopefull.

lunachick · #8 (**permalink**) 08-21-2009

Hi There, just giving an update on my infant son's 7 hemangiomas. We started treatment with propanolol 3 weeks ago at 2mg/kg/day, divided into doses every 8 hours. We're using a liquid form of the medicine, given orally.

We have continued to see dramatic and consistent progress. All of the hemangiomas are smaller in diameter and paler in color than they were 3 weeks ago. One of the 3 on top of his head is nearly gone - it is now flat, and looks mottled where some of it is a pale pinkish-red, and the rest just looks like his normal skin color.

He had a very bright red one on his cheek that was raised about 6mm; that one is maybe 2mm high now and the red color is gone from parts of it (as above, it is reverting to his normal skin color, which is very pale.

We're seeing only subtle changes to the ones on his body, which were smaller and much flatter to begin with. I had assumed the smaller ones would be the first to disappear, and that may still happen, but at his point the really dramatic changes are to the ones that were originally largest, most prominent and raised.

My son has tolerated the medication very well - I really don't notice any side effects, other than slightly cooler hands and feet a little while (an hour or two) after each dose.

If the current rate of progress contines, I think the hemangiomas could be gone entirely in a few months. I'm very glad we decided to try this treatment!

arares · #9 (**permalink**) 09-01-2009

Hi!
I have a 2 years old son that have, since birth, a plain hemangioma ("port wine stain") that covers the left side of his face (forehead, eyelid, nose, upper lip and a part of his cheeck). After finding that we are not dealing with Sturge-Webber-Krabbe syndrome (including angio-IRM at the age of 9 months)we start worry about his look. In order to obtain an improvement in his look, we started (at the age of 11 months) the laser-therapy. We have had nearly 30 sesions untill now with a good effect.
We recentlly read about the use of propranolol in hemangiomas. We would like to start and we really want to know what happens after stop giving Propranolol to our child?

malal1977 · #10 (**permalink**) 09-09-2009

My daughter was born with a very rare form of hemangioma which went undiagnosed for several weeks. The growth of the hemangiomas in her airway caused her to stop breathing. After many weeks of uncertainty as to why she kept stopping breathing, doctors performed a bronchoscopy on her only to find that she has them growing in her airway. They say she is one of about 20 children in the UK with this rare form of hemangioma. She started off with dexamethasone for 5 months and then the wonderful news of the propranalol. She has been taking it for 5 months now and she is 9 months old now and it has been great. Absolutely no side effects whatsoever. Compared to the dex this has been a welcome new treatment for her. Thanks to the medical world and the superb respiratory team at Southampton General Hospital she is living and breathing. Propranalol all the way!!!!