A novel method for calculating the volume of hemangiomas

Abstract

Accurately measuring the size of infantile hemangiomas is critical for objectively quantifying their growth, involution, and treatment response. Volumetric measurements are particularly appropriate because hemangiomas tend to mark out their territory early on and then grow and involute volumetrically. To our knowledge, only two publications have proposed bedside methods for measuring hemangioma volume. In these two publications, the authors modeled hemangiomas as perfect spheres or half-spheres, but many hemangiomas more closely approximate ellipsoids, with each of their axes in three dimensions having different, rather than equal, lengths. We present an alternative bedside method for calculating hemangioma volume, using a formula derived with calculus requiring only three bedside measurements using a disposable paper tape measure.