When our daughter was about 2 weeks old we noticed a red mark on her back. We asked about it at the next well baby check, and were told it was a hemangioma. When Dahlia's hemangioma was diagnosed, our pediatrician told us not to worry about it. It was a birthmark that would get bigger for about 9 months, then start to fade away. By the time she was 10 there would be no more red spot. So we came home and did a little research, but not much. It wasn't anything we needed to worry about. We had no idea what we were in for.
Wikipedia has a pretty good definition of a hemangioma:
A hemangioma of infancy is a benign self-involuting tumor (swelling or growth) of endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. It usually appears during the first weeks of life and resolves by age 10. In infancy, it is the most common tumor.[1] The word "hemangioma" comes from the Greekhaema- (αίμα), "blood"; angeio (αγγείο), "vessel"; -oma (-ωμα), "tumor" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemangioma).
This is Dahlia's hemangioma on February 3, 2011 (a little over 1 month old). It had been growing for about a month at this point.
Typical, healthy hemangioma.
Hello, My daughter has on one her back as well. It's bigger than your daughter's. I am a little worried about it. How is your baby doing now? Thanks
ReplyDeleteis your daughter's changing at all? if you start to see any darker spots (or dry, scabby or peeling) get her to a dermatologist asap! usually hemangiomas dont cause any problems at all and go away on their own without any treatment. we were a rarity. my daughter is fine and healthy now! she still has the hemangiomas, but they are going away, and the ulceration is completely gone (it healed around 5 months, she's now 12 months)!
ReplyDeleteif you have any more questions please ask! i know how much more help you may need than you can get from a doctor! best of luck, and i sure hope this doesn't happen to your girl. if it does ulcerate, it will get better. oh! and the back is actually a good place to have a hemangioma.
Sorry. I didn't check your message until today. Thank you for replying. I am glad to hear that the ulceration is completely gone for your daughter. My daughter had the hemangioma since she was born. It was already big when she was born. Now she is almost 3 months old, I can notice that the spot is raised more and little bit longer. We already took her to a dermatologist and we were told that it will stop growing around age 1 and start to shrink after that. My daughter's hemangioma is quite bit, about twice as bigger as your daughter's if not even bigger. I hope it will start to go away when she is 1 year old. I really don't want to have any surgery done on her if not necessary. When did your daughter's hemangioma stop growing and when did you notice that it started to go away? Thank you
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your daughter's hemangioma is doing exactly what they are supposed to do (which is good)! Puffy, raised, bigger... it's all normal. I noticed my daughter's was lightening at about 9 months. And now, at 14 months, it is significantly lighter than it was at 9 months. You will probably notice it fading before she is 1! The majority of hemangiomas start to 'involute' at about 9 months, and lessen 10% per year... so, supposedly they are totally gone by the time the girls are about 10 years old. I don't think you would need to get a surgery. Even with complications (like in our case) there are other, less invasive/risky options. In my opinion, surgery on babies (for hemangiomas) should be the very last resort.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The hemangioma doesn't bother her at all. I will patiently wait and let the nature run it's course. By the way, I am really glad that I found your blog. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteHi Bretty,
ReplyDeleteAnother question... When I compared the pic I took today and the one I took last month, I noticed that the color is darker, I guess that is normal? I hope you don't mind that I keep asking you questions. Thanks
it is probably normal because the hemangioma is still in the proliferation stage, but it depends. you should check in with a dermatologist to be sure. and i don't mind the questions at all!
ReplyDelete