Hemangioma - Plano,TX

My daughter had one on her upper lip. When she drank her bottle we had to have a cloth diaper under her chin. They removed it for her at @ 18 months. She has a tiny scar from pulling out her stitches :( Other than that it was outpatient and not too bad.

My daughter had one on her hand and a big deal was made of it at her adoption court hearing but it was no big deal. It was gone before she was 5. It will begin to shrink soon in my experience. I know it seems like it is getting bigger (and it may be) but I bet it will go away slowly and on it's own.

My daughter started getting her's about 3 weeks, started as a tiny dot and got to be the size of a half dollar and raised too. Her's in on her arm, so the doc wasn't too worried about it. She is 4 now and you can hardly see it. Looks like a bruise. But on the face, I am not sure what your doc will want to do. Good luck.

All 3 of our kids had them. Our son's was tiny and on his back. It has
shrunk and faded. One of our twins had one on her ear but it is gone.
She is almost 5. Our other daughter had one on her eye that is almost
gone, only noticeable when she is sick or tired because it makes her eye
droop a little. She was put on steroids a couple times bec we were
concerned about it affecting her vision. She also had a large red one on
her arm that was removed just last week. Dr John Burns (partner to Dr Jay Burns that someone else mentioned) did the surgery. There are only a few pediatric plastic surgeons in the country who will do surgery on them. We went to Dr. Ghali, a pediatric dermatologist in Grapevine first. He took pics of the hemangiomas and monitored their growth. He recommended Dr Burns for the surgery.
Hope this helps.

My daughter, now 6, had one on her forehead. Her pediatrician wasn't worried about it but I wanted a second opinion and I'm glad I got one from a Dr who deals with Hemangiomas. Our first visit he took pictures to document growth and said we should wait and see. This was when she was 8 weeks old. It grew slightly and we weren't too worried about it. Then at 5 months old it went thru a growth phase and the underneath was growing faster than her skin could and she had an ulceration that wouldn't heal until it was done growing...and who knew how long that may have lasted. So we opted to go on steroids for a total of 6 weeks which included a slow wean. It stopped the growth and we never had to deal with any other issues. Like I said, she is 6 and in kindergarten this year. The spot is slightly noticeable to me but most people don't even question it.
It was hard when she was a baby and strangers would question what was 'wrong' with my baby. That hurt. Especially the man who asked if she was hit in the head with a hammer ???? The best thing the dr told me was that was my issue to deal with and that she was not being affected by that at all since she didn't know they were asking. Made it easier for me. I also taught her it was part of her when she was learning her eyes, nose, birthmark....

The dr we went to was in Dallas. Finding him was the hardest part for me. You can't just go to a dermatologist because they don't specialize in them . We saw Dr Burns. http://www.kidsplastsurg.com/dr-jay-burns.cfm

Also, one thing I wish I would have known when she was a baby was that when people said it would go away in 5 to 7 years it didn't mean it would be that bright burning red color that whole time. It fades. I was consumed with her Hemangioma, thought and prayed about it continuously I wish I would have known that even thought it was still around when she was 4 it wouldn't be very noticeable.

Our now 13 year old had one on her forehead. Started small, grew for a few months, was raised and nickel sized. Lasted until she was 4 or so, then just went away. there is a slight texture difference on her skin, but you would have to know what you are looking for to tell now. We got so used to it, we forgot it was there. If you daughter's is an issue, the pediatrician will give you options, but most are fine.

M.

My nephew had one on his eyelid. Showed up when he was a couple of months old and got fairly large and the doctor said to leave it alone unless it obstructed his vision. You can't even tell where it was unless you know what you are looking for. Make sure to get opinions from several doctors before surgery.

My son has one at the inner corner of his eyelid, so of course we have been seeing a dermatologist for it since he was two months old. Because of its location, we've had to have several steriod injections to restrict its growth, but here's what the dr told us about hemangiomas in general: typically, hemangiomas on the head grow faster and bigger than on the rest of the body; they get bigger until about 9 months, then slowly reduce in size and get lighter until, at about age 5, they blend with the rest of the skin; if untreated and if they get too big, when they shrink, there could be excess skin left and the area won't be smooth. If you're worried about it, you should take your daughter to a pediatric dermatologist before too long just to get a professional opinion. He's almost three, and it's finally lightening up and no longer bright red. Good luck!

My daughter has one on her chest. She has had in since birth. It got bigger for a while and even had a pretty noticable knot in it for about a year. Her doc kept an eye on it, but once she realized it was not going to interfere with her breast tissue (it has moved higher as she grows and her skin grows and stretches). I think the doc said something like 90% go away by age 2, of those 50% by age 4, of those 25% by age 6. She is 6 1/2, and it is much lighter now, but may never go completely away.

As long as your pediatrician is keeping an eye on it, I wouldn't worry. It may not be pretty, but it is very likely it will go completely away. My daughter's has faded and stretched to where it resembles (to us) a crown, so we call it her princess crown and tell her God gave our little princess her own special crown, and she is proud of it, and not at all self-concious about it.

K.