Preoperative treatment of a parotid hemangioma with 100% ethyl alcohol

Hemangiomas are one of the most common childhood neoplasms, occurring in approximately 12% of infants younger than one year of age. The lesions typically appear shortly after birth, increase in size over the first year and characteristically regress over the next decade. Because hemangiomas can be visible during an important stage of a child’s social development, numerous authors have pursued alternative treatment strategies to avoid or reduce this lengthy involution process. Unfortunately, no effective medical treatment has been reported for children with large, deforming hemangiomas of the parotid gland and overlying cheek. In the present case, a patient with a large parotid hemangioma was treated preoperatively with an intralesional injection of 100% ethyl alcohol solution to reduce the size of the mass. The mass was removed 28 days later with no major postoperative complications.