Surgery of lymphatic malformations in oral and cervicofacial regions in children

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine prognostic factors and complication rates related to the surgical management of lymphatic malformations of oral and cervicofacial regions in children. Study design. The charts of 117 children operated on for oral and cervicofacial lymphatic malformations were retrospectively reviewed. Treatment outcomes were analyzed for correlation with several factors, including age at presentation, sex, associated symptoms, anatomical site of involvement, extent of disease, operative complications, histological pattern, and recurrence. The chi(2) test was used to compare treatment failure rates and complication rates between patients with and without these factors. Results. The tongue was the most frequent site of involvement (40.17%). The lesions with oral and facial involvement had a higher failure or recurrence rate (29.23%) than those with cervical involvement (8.33%; P < .05), and lesions with involvement of multiple sites had a higher recurrence rate (48.28%) than those with involvement of a single site or 2 sites (11.67%; P < .01). Although patients who underwent surgical procedure at less than 1 year of age had a higher recurrence rate (28.95%) than those more than 1 year (19.61%) of age, and microcystic lesions had a higher recurrence rate (28.33%) than macrocystic lesions (13.79%), no significant difference was found between them (P < .05). The lesions with involvement of 3 or more sites had significantly higher operative complication rates (37.8%) than those with involvement of 1 or 2 sites (15.58%; P <.01). Conclusion. Factors correlated with a worse prognosis in lymphatic malformations of oral and cervicofacial regions include the involvement of the oral cavity and/or face and involvement of multiple anatomical sites, which also may be associated with higher operative complications.