My baby has a strawberry hemangioma

#1 04-26-2005, 02:45 AM

My name is Jill and my 4 month old baby boy has a strawberry hemangioma (hem) on the right side of his forehead. How do I know if it is internal or if it will get huge. It is only the size of a pea and it is raised and bright red. The doctors i went to have seen it on a routine check up but have never mentioned it further.... some one on this message board said that if it was left untreated that it would get much worse but every where else that I'm reseached said to leave it alone, what is the facts??
Thanks

eprmo · #2 04-26-2005, 04:42 PM

Every H is different,,no two are alike,,the best thing to do is photograph it, and if you see it's changing drastically,,,make sure you go to a vascular birthmark specialist,,,if it's not doing to much,,that is good!!

Your baby H.is in the "active" growth stage now,,, so, if you don't see to many changes..(.fast growing , spreading or swelling up).. you are very lucky...

If you need to know good doctors in your area,,check out the Doctrrs List here on the front page of this web site, and see if any are near where you live!

Elissa

#3 04-27-2005, 12:40 AM

Thank you for the advice. How long would it be dormant for before I'm out of the clear... a year? or could it vary. I've gone on the other sites to compare and my baby's mark is not even close to being as big as any of the pictures that I've seen .... What is the average age that it stops increasing?? On other sites they only mention severe cases, but that info dosn't help me... I want to know about mild cases. Jill

nickbar · #4 04-27-2005, 05:26 PM

Hi, all h. are very different as Elissa said. We can kind of guess based on typical or more common outcomes of other hemangiomas that are similar. The lesion you describe might be done growing. From what I've seen the lesions that stay small and are focal (contained boarders)and don't grow all that rapidly do not go thru another growth phase. I am not saying this is fact...just what I've witnessed. If you don't see growth by age 12 months you can feel pretty safe to say it is done growing. (very rarely do the lesions grow past 12 m...and usually in more complicated type lesions do we hear of cases past 1 year). You probably will start to see graying in the middle first...this is a good sign. The lesion will start to look dull...not so bright red.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Corinne

#5 04-27-2005, 06:20 PM

Thank you for the info. I will keep you posted. Jill

#6 06-01-2005, 05:59 PM

hello, my son was also born with a strawberry. it started a very small pink mark on his cheek then over a couple months it grew to the size of a pea.. he;s now 6 months and my family has told me it isnt getting any larger.. i really cant tell because i see him everyday and i am very aware of it.. it doesnt seem to bother my husband but it really bothered me in the beginning bc i didnt know how big it would get and that was scary! i have done alot of research on htis topic bc i was thinking of having it removed in the earlier stages.. but with no luck from any doctors i just thought maybe i am blowing out of proportion?? it is relativily small compared to some that i have seen online.. so we will wait and see i guess. living in ontario it is very hard to even get a referal to see a speacialist.. let me know the progess of your childs hemangioma and i will also keep you updated...

#7 09-28-2005, 11:29 AM

My daughter was born with a pea sized birthmark on the right side of her stomach, she is now nine months old and it is getting bigger, possibly about two inches wide and it is raised about an inch from her tummy, I am getting more and more frustrated at this and getting no help from my doctor, will this disappear or will it get bigger.

#8 09-28-2005, 06:45 PM

Nicholas' started to turn a lighter colour around 7.5 months of age.. this hopefully is a sign of regression. i think it looks smaller to me now bc he has grown and the hemangioma is staying the same size? he acutally has an appointment to get it lasered next month.. i am alittle worried about it causing it grow again bc that is a risk but its a very small chance so i think i will go ahead with it.. we are having that done in Toronto and a derm is doing it.. its apprently very quick and the baby will only feel a quick snapping feeling and is awake the entire time.. i dont htink i would of chosen to do this is we had to put him under to many risks involved.. has anyone else has the laser done he referred to it as a "v"beam. thanks alot