without amblyopia (n=15) (P=.09). The malformation was Correspondence: Dr Mohney, Department of Ophthal- 2.81 times larger in the patients with amblyopia. mology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905 (
[email protected]). Comment. In this population-based cohort of children Author Contributions: Dr Mohney had full access to all diagnosed as having periocular infantile hemangioma dur- of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the in- ing a 40-year period, amblyopia with or without strabis- tegrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. mus occurred in approximately 1 in 5 children. To our Financial Disclosure: None reported. knowledge, this study is the first population-based re- Funding/Support: This study was supported in part by port on periocular infantile hemangiomas in the United Rochester Epidemiology Project grant R01-AG034676 States. The rate of amblyopia of 19% in this population from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculo- is significantly lower than the rates in prior studies, which skeletal and Skin Diseases and an unrestricted grant from range from 43% to 76%.1-3 Research to Prevent Blindness. As stated by Robb,1 it is likely that previous studies 1. Robb RM. Refractive errors associated with hemangiomas of the eyelids and overreported the rate of amblyopia as it is often only the orbit in infancy. Am J Ophthalmol. 1977;83(1):52-58. more severe cases that are referred to ophthalmic spe- 2. Stigmar G, Crawford JS, Ward CM, Thomson HG. Ophthalmic sequelae of cialists. Given that only half of the periocular heman- infantile hemangiomas of the eyelids and orbit.