Sclerotherapy for congenital lesions in the head and neck.

Objective: This study retrospectively reviews the results of sclerotherapy using several sclerosants for congenital lesions of the head and neck.

Methods: Between May 1990 and May 2002, patients with lymphatic malformations were treated by sclerotherapy; 10 with bleomycin, and 25 with OK-432. OK-432 sclerotherapy was also applied in 9 patients with plunging ranula and in 1 patient with branchial anomaly. Percutaneous sclerotherapy with ethanolamine oleate was used in 29 patients with venous malformations, and 28 patients with pyriform sinus fistula were treated by trichloroacetic acid chemocauterization.

Results: Overall, two thirds of patients with these lesions showed marked to complete response. One case of mortality occurred in the bleomycin sclerotherapy group. However, no major complications by other sclerosants were found. In lymphatic malformations, history of excision before sclerotherapy was a poor prognostic factor.

Conclusions: Sclerotherapy using these sclerosants is a safe and effective primary treatment for congenital lesions in the head and neck.