Last updated: 02/17/2009

Hemangiomas are the most common tumor of infancy, occurring in approximately 10–12% of all white children and are nearly twice as common in premature infants. For unknown reasons, the occurrence in children of black or Asian background is much lower,...

approximately 0.8–1.4%. The tumors have been reported to be from two to six times more common in females than in males. The great majority of these tumors are located in the head and neck, with the remaining appearing throughout the body, including internally.

At present, an estimated 60% of patients with hemangiomas require some form of corrective surgery sometime during recovery from the tumor surgery. The remaining 40% rely on the spontaneous involution process to resolve the lesion, although complete return to normalcy is extremely rare.