Color Doppler sonography of superficial hemangiomas

Purpose. Retrospective analysis of the morphologic and hemodynamic characte ristics of hemangiomas in infants provided by color Doppler sonography. Materials and Methods. 94 hemangiomas were studied in 87 children separated into four classes of age (0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, >12 months) . Eleven were followed with several examinations. Echogenicity, compared to normal subcutaneous tissues, and degree of vascularization were assessed q ualitatively. Resistive index (RI) was measured in 78 cases. Results. All lesions presented as vascularized solid masses: 63% were hypoe choic, 16% hyperechoic and 21% mixed. All hypoechoic and mixed lesions show ed higher vascularity than hyperechoic ones. Hyperechoic hemangiomas were m ore frequent in the fourth class of age. Mean resistive index was significa ntly higher in the first (0.61 +/-0.14) and the fourth (0.6 +/-0.14) classe s of age than in the second (0.51 +/-0.12) (p=0.01 and <0.03, respectively) , and higher in the hyperechoic group (0.7<plus/minus>0.13) than in the hyp oechoic group (0.53 +/-0.11), (p<0.01). Seven of 11 cases moved from hypoec hoic to hyperechoic or mixed. Increase of resistive index with age was note d in 9/11 cases. Conclusions. Superficial hemangiomas have typical but variable gray-scale, spectral and color flow sonographic patterns. These fluctuations are probab ly related to phases of evolution.