What is the Difference Between Cavernous and Capillary Hemangioma

The key difference between cavernous and capillary hemangioma is that cavernous hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of dilated blood vessels that are widely packed with thin capillary walls, while capillary hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that are tightly packed.

Hemangiomas are non-cancerous tumors that develop within the early stages of life due to the accumulation of abnormal blood vessels. These blood vessels accumulate in different regions of the body and start growing, affecting the nearby major organs. Hemangiomas are treatable. But treatment options are deployed only when the severity increases. If not, these hemangiomas are monitored closely by physicians, and they diminish with time.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cavernous Hemangioma
3. What is Capillary Hemangioma
4. Similarities – Cavernous and Capillary Hemangioma
5. Cavernous vs Capillary Hemangioma in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Cavernous vs Capillary Hemangioma

What is Cavernous Hemangioma?

Cavernous hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of dilated blood vessels that are widely packed with thin capillary walls. These are the smallest blood vessels. The presence of thin walls of these capillaries causes the hemangiomas to bleed easily. The blood within these capillaries doesn’t move or rarely moves extremely slowly. Cavernous hemangioma occurs mostly in the brain or brainstem. But hemangiomas can be present in the spine or other areas of the body. Other terms for cavernous hemangioma are cerebral cavernous malformation cavernoma, occult vascular malformations, or cavernous malformations.

Cavernous hemangioma is common in 1 in 200 people in the age range of 20-30 years old. The symptoms of cavernous hemangioma include seizures, blurred or loss of vision, facial drooping, unsteady muscle movements, headaches, impaired speech, and loss of memory. The significance of cavernous hemangioma is that 80% of the cases do not have any identifiable diagnosis with a direct cause. The chance for rupture and bleeding, causing seizures, surgical risks during the removal of cavernous hemangioma, etc., are the complications of cavernous hemangioma. MRI scans diagnose cavernous hemangioma and are the main type of imaging tool available to diagnose them. Treatment for cavernous hemangioma is to surgically remove them. Usually, neurosurgeons decide whether to remove or not depending on the size and location of the hemangioma.

What is Capillary Hemangioma?

Capillary hemangioma is a cluster of blood vessels grown abnormally that may not be present at birth but appear within the first 6 months of life. Capillary hemangioma is a benign (non-cancerous) tumor that appears like a red birthmark on the skin. It is common in premature infants and girls. Once developed in the first 6 months of life, it will gradually decrease in size between 12 -15 months or may go up until 5-6 years of age.

Capillary hemangiomas may be present anywhere in the body but are mainly present around the eye, such as the eye surface called the conjunctiva, and the eye socket or orbit. Capillary hemangiomas of the eyelid can cause decreased vision, also known as amblyopia. This occurs by two mechanisms. Initially, the lesion grows and presses on the surface of the eye. Next, the lesion causes the eyelids to droop significantly. In the first stage, the lesion causes distortion and loss of focus, and the drooping of the eyelid causes blockage of eyesight. Moreover, capillary hemangioma that occurs in the eye socket can lead to impaired eye movement. Most capillary hemangiomas do not require any treatment. Physicians will monitor the growth and vision issues. But if the condition is severe, physicians use steroid medication to prevent the prolonged growth of capillary hemangioma.

What are the Similarities Between Cavernous and Capillary Hemangioma?

• Cavernous and capillary hemangioma are two types of hemangiomas.
• They lead to abnormally grown blood vessels.
• Both types of hemangiomas cause adverse effects if left untreated.
• However, both conditions are treatable.
• They may be distributed anywhere in the body.

What is the Difference Between Cavernous and Capillary Hemangioma?

Cavernous hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of dilated blood vessels that are widely packed with thin capillary walls, while capillary hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that are tightly packed. Thus, this is the key difference between cavernous and capillary hemangioma. Also, cavernous hemangiomas mostly affect the brain and brain stem, while capillary hemangiomas affect the eyelids, the eye surface (conjunctiva), and the eye socket or orbit. Moreover, treatment for cavernous hemangioma is based on size and location and may include a variety of treatment options. The main treatment option for capillary hemangioma is steroid medications.

The below infographic presents the differences between cavernous and capillary hemangioma in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Cavernous vs Capillary Hemangioma

Hemangiomas are non-cancerous tumors that develop within the early stages of life due to the accumulation of abnormal blood vessels. Cavernous hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of dilated blood vessels that are widely packed with thin capillary walls. Capillary hemangioma is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that are tightly packed. The symptoms of cavernous hemangioma include seizures, blurred or loss of vision, facial drooping, unsteady muscle movements, etc. Capillary hemangioma is a benign (non-cancerous) tumor that appears like a red birthmark on the skin. They may be present anywhere in the body but is mainly present around the eye, such as the conjunctiva, eye socket, or orbit. So, this summarizes the difference between cavernous and capillary hemangioma.

Reference:

1. “Capillary Hemangioma.” American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.
2. “Cavernous Hemangioma: Symptoms, Treatment & Causes.” Cleveland Clinic.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Cavernous hemangioma histopathology (1)” By user:KGH – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Capillary hemangioma – very high mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia