[The diagnosis and treatment progress of lymphatic malformations of the head and neck in children].

Lymphatic malformations including macrocystic and microcystic malformation are congenital benign vascular disease. The incidence in children is much higher than adults and they most often occur in head and neck. There are a variety of diagnosis and treatment methods in lymphatic malformations. This paper reviewed the recent literatures with respect to the pathology, imaging and treatment of the lymphatic malformations in children. And we detailed the advantage and disadvantage of surgical excision, sclerotherapy, laser ablation and drug treatment of lymphatic malformations particularly in children. Surgical excision continues to be integral to treat in many cases when the lesions involve the eye socket or are large enough to affect breathing, but it should not be overused without consideration of the histologic types and extent. In addition, cervicofacial macrocystic lesions tend to sclerotherapy while superficial mucosal microsystic lesions are amenable to laser therapy. In order to obtain the best treatment outcomes, the treatment protocol should be individualized and comprehensive.