Angioma is a benign tumor consisting of blood vessels or lymph vessels. An angioma made up of blood vessels is referred to as hemangioma. And those of lymph vessels is a lymphangioma. Most angiomas are congenital and are present at birth or form immediately thereafter.
A hemangioma is a birthmark marked by an abnormal buildup of blood vessels in the skin. Sometimes referred to as strawberry hemangioma, it looks like a bright red patch blood vessels. Typically, it’ll grow for about a year and then recede slowly, leaving no noticeable scar.
A hemangioma may also involve internal organs, i.e. liver hemangioma. These benign vessel tumors are not covered in this health blurb.
A hemangioma benign vessel tumor may be in the top skin layer or deeper down, referred to as cavernous. Marked by a reddish raised skin lesion, most hemangiomas appear on the face, scalp or back of the neck.
The majority of hemangiomas will not need to be treated. Instead, they’re left alone to disappear on their own.
Sometimes, a cavernous hemangioma may grow on the eyelid, thus affecting vision. In this case, steroid injections or laser treatments can quickly reduce the size of your benign vessel tumor for vision problem relief. But because of the negative potential side effects from these treatments, some other treatments to minimize the affects of the benign vessels are being experimented with, including beta blockers, interferon alfa and topical immune suppressants.
A lymphangioma, aka cystic hygroma, is a benign vessel tumor of the lymphatic system. These lesions typically occur where the lymphatic system comes together with the venous system. As such, they’re most commonly found on back of your neck. And often go unnoticed until an upper respiratory tract infection draws attention to the area.
Whenever possible, the tissue of a lymphangioma will be removed. However, should your benign lymph vessel tumor become entwined with other neck structures, surgical removal isn’t plausible. If this is your case, then some other options, such as steroids, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, may be attempted to eliminate your lymphangioma health issue.
Cherry angioma is the most common type of angioma.