Hemangioma/raspberry birthmark

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 9:02 pm

My baby who is almost a year old will be having a procedure done under anesthesia. She was born with a raspberry on her chest in an area near her shoulder. We have the option of having it removed by a plastic surgeon while she is under. It will leave a small scar. The question is whether or not to have it removed. Many babies are born with this type of birthmark on their faces. If it was there I would definitely have it removed. Since it is in an area that will only be visible when she wears a bathing suit maybe we should just leave it alone. There is a chance it will fade and therefore be less obvious. In the other hand once she is undergoing anesthesia for this other procedure shouldn't we just have it reand save her the possibility of having to do it at a later time? Is it really so bad? Will kids make fun of her? Is the scar going to be that much different than the act birthmark? What would you do in our situation?

amother

Navy

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 9:09 pm

What did your pedi say? I would also speak to a plastic surgeon. I thought they always fade/disappear within a few years? My son had one on his upper arm, about 3/4 inch wide. By 18 months it was totally gone, slight silvery skin left but no one would even notice unless you point it out

JoyInTheMorning

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 9:20 pm

I'm usually the last person to suggest cosmetic surgery, especially on children. But in this case, I could see how a girl could be very self-conscious of her body when she compares herself to other girls. I think she deserves the chance to look like everyone else and not feel that she is marred in some way. If it were my daughter, I would do it.

thunderstorm

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 9:42 pm

My baby girl has one right beneath her chest and she is nine months old. Baruch HaShem it already shrunk and started to fade. If it keeps doing that it will be completely unnoticeable by the time she's two. If it would cause additional pain after the surgery then I wouldn't do it. But I'd discuss it with my pediatrician first. There are laser options as well (that's what the pediatrician told me)

heidi

Wed, May 01 2019, 10:43 am

I have two kids born with hemangiomas. One faded completey by the time he was one. The other had laser and then it faded with time.
I'd wait before risking a scar, and additional pain for baby.

amother

Wed, May 01 2019, 11:48 am

Thank you for all your responses. The procedure she is having is plastic surgery related so we have consulted with the surgeon about the hemangioma as well. They were advising us yo remove it since we will be already doing anesthesia for the procedure. Nobody suggested laser. Who did you use for that? What type of practitioner? Dermatologist? Do u have any specific names? At what age was it done? Thanks

amother

Teal

Wed, May 01 2019, 12:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If you’re in NY the I would suggest Dr. Waner https://www.vbiny.org/

iluvy

Wed, May 01 2019, 2:42 pm

Interesting to hear about all the hemangiomas that faded right away. My daughter's has still not faded and she is 3. If she will be under anyway, why not remove it? A bit of scar doesn't need to worry you if it's under her clothing, and since it's flat it will be less noticeable than the mark itself.

SingALong

Wed, May 01 2019, 4:09 pm

Ds has one on his upper arm and he’s 5 years old now, it’s faded a lot. As a baby we brought him to a skin dr in chop who didn’t recommend going with laser. She gave me cream to apply to help it shrink faster but I rarely use it. It’s fading on its own.
She told me that instead of las r, they give a vasosuppresant medicine, with a few days of monitoring in the hospital, and that helps shrink It without a scar. My neighbor did it since her baby had it on her face and it worked beautifully. The dr didn’t recommend that for my son since it wasn’t on his face or near any vital organ.
Maybe explore that option? Ask your pediatrician, they may be familiar with which dr does that where you live.

amother

Mustard

Wed, May 01 2019, 8:52 pm

My 6 month old daughter had a huge one on her inner thigh and a big one on her nose. My pediatrician referred me to a hematologist who prescribed propronolol when she was 5 weeks old and it is almost gone. I know several others who did this and were successful. It is a very safe medication.

amother

Tan

Wed, May 01 2019, 10:45 pm

My daughter had a light one on her cheek, totally faded by six or seven years old. I consulted a dermatologist about laser and was told to wait, I'm glad I did!

amother

Wheat

Wed, May 01 2019, 10:47 pm

My 19 yr old had one on her arm. They told us when she was a baby to wait till 5 if it doesnt go away to remove it. It sisnt. We removed it. She still has a scare all these yrs later but fades every yr

amother

Orange

Thu, May 02 2019, 12:19 am

My daughter had a hemangioma on her nose and was on propranolol for a year way back when it was relatively new. It worked wonders. We also had it lasered twice toward the end to lighten the redness. But this was a growth below the skin and could have potentially affected her breathing, eyes, etc if it got too big. For a strawberry at the surface of the skin I doubt you would get propranolol or laser. Many shrink but in this scenario why not remove it? Worst case scenario she has a tiny scar on her shoulder not a big deal and you’ll be done.

SRB

Thu, May 02 2019, 12:40 am

My daughter was born with one on her head. She is 2 and it is fading so much that I forgot about it. I read statistics awhile back and can't remember the exact numbers but do remember that most fade by like age 5, and most all fade (like 90%) by age 10. I remember reading that it's a painful recovery and surgery is discouraged unless there is a health threat.