what kind of doctor for diagnosis

#1 12-20-2005, 06:32 PM

My daughter is 6 months old. Her ped. referred us to a plastic surgeon to find out exactly what kind of birthmark she has. It is located on her upper leg near her butt. Can I have anyones opinion on whether this doctor would be ok to see, or should I try to seek out a vascular abnormalties specialist? When she was born you could hardly see the spot. it looked like she had very light bruising that you could hardly see. At that point they said it was a hemagioma. later they said it looked more to be a PWS. My insurance doesn't cover 2 of the 3 doctors listed on the site and the other is far far from home. Also I was wondering with port wine stains, if you push on them does the color turn whitish then return to the dark color. I can't find anything about that. Thank you so much for your time.

hankbartenbach · #2 12-20-2005, 09:46 PM

Hi scnfld,

I am 23 with PWS.

I would suggest doing both go to the plastic surgeon that her ped recommended. If he/she tell you to wait and see then find a VAS. What state do you live in? Some one on this site might know another doctor that is not on the list that might be able to help you. Also, someone else might have used the plastic surgeon that was recommended to you and they would be able to tell you if he/she was worth see.

To answer your other question. Yes, if you push on PWS it turns white because you pushed the blood out of the area and then it fills back up. Though I believe there are other kinds of birthmarks that do that as well but not sure. The Plastic surgeon should be able to tell you what type of birthmark you are dealing with. Or, if you want you can either post a picture on this topic by clicking additional options when posting a message, or you can send a picture and ask the PWS expert at the front of this website if your daughters condition is PWS.

I hope this helps and am sure others will chime in later.

Hank

#3 12-21-2005, 03:57 AM

I live in Ohio. My daughter will be seeing Dr Lehman in Akron Ohio. Hopefully he will know what he is doing. If anyone has used this Dr. Please let me know what your experience was with him.

Thanks,
Sandy

nickbar · #4 12-21-2005, 05:57 AM

Sandy, if you aren't comfortable after seeing this doc. I would highly recommend seeing someone at CInic clinic if possible. Document any changes in the lesion... this will help determine the type as well. My son's hemangioma looked like a pws for about 2 weeks...but soon was obviously not when it thickened and became dark red like jelly... our ped. was sure it was a hemangioma all along. You can also email the experts on this site with pictures if you have questions not answered by the derm. you are going to see.

GOOD LUCK and keep us posted.

Corinne