Many patients come to see a doctor for “hemangioma”, which is actually a congenital vascular malformation, and the principles of treatment for the two are very different. Today, we have time to talk about the difference between the two, starting with the definition: Hemangioma: This is a true tumor that originates from the endothelial cells of blood vessels, and the mass is composed of tumor cells in name only. The most common type of hemangioma is capillary hemangioma in infants and children, which can also be commonly referred to as strawberry hemangioma. These hemangiomas are mostly benign, so moms and dads don’t have to worry, as all capillary hemangiomas on babies are benign and will not become malignant. Congenital vascular malformation: There are no tumor cells in the mass. At the level of individual cells, they are all normal. However, there is a problem with the arrangement and combination of these normal cells; or the cells are in the wrong anatomical location and appear in areas where they should not be; or the cellular structures that should have disappeared in the late embryonic period do not recede for some reason; thus leading to malformation. There are many kinds of congenital vascular malformations, such as cavernous hemangioma, trapezoid hemangioma, mixed hemangioma, burgundy pigmented nevus and so on, all of which are vascular malformations in nature, but at present, many clinicians in China, some of them are even specialized in vascular surgery, still refer to them in this way, which is actually wrong for the simple reason that vascular malformations are not tumors and cannot be called as such. Here Lu would also like to make a bold appeal that the classic textbook of vascular surgery, Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery, should be used as the basis for unifying the terminology in order to deepen understanding and avoid confusion. After understanding the conceptual differences, the key question is: What are the differences between infantile hemangiomas and congenital vascular malformations in terms of clinical manifestations and treatment? Hemangiomas in infants and children are usually invisible at birth because the number of tumor cells is still very small and the tumor body is also very small and invisible to the naked eye, probably just a red dot like a mosquito bite. In the following months, the tumor cells start to divide and grow wildly, and the tumor body then increases rapidly and protrudes from the skin surface, looking like a strawberry. Moms and dads usually can’t sleep at this time, and this is also the time when they come to see the doctor. For the record, hemangiomas in infants and children are generally self-limiting, meaning that most of them can subside and heal on their own, with a rate of about 70% or more. Only hemangiomas that grow too rapidly or are located near vital organs (e.g., in the corner of the eye or near the nose) require aggressive treatment. The current laser and isotope treatments cannot meet the treatment requirements, and the isotope treatment will leave unsightly scars, so use with caution! Congenital vascular malformations are usually more obvious at birth and do not grow as quickly as hemangiomas. The specific treatment should be based on the typing of the vascular malformation, which is too professional to discuss in detail. It should be clear that there is a big difference between congenital vascular malformation and hemangioma, so don’t call vascular malformation hemangioma anymore!