hemangiomas and siblings

#1 07-11-2002, 08:00 PM

Does anyone know if siblings are likely to share this birthmark? My 2.5 year old was diagnosed with this shortly after birth and has received laser treatments. I just had a baby boy last week and I am noticing a blotchy red cluster of veins on his eyelid. It is not raised at this point but who knows. I am starting to panic. I really don't want to go through this again. People were so insensitive with my daughter - What's that on her face?-asked daily and the expence of treatment-not covered by insurance. Please let me know if anyone has any information. Chris

#2 07-12-2002, 01:24 AM

There was some discussion about this awhile back, and the verdict seemed to be that doctors say it is not supposed to be a genetic thing. However, I have a friend who has 2 little girls and the oldest one was born with a strawberry hemangioma on her bottom, which eventually has faded away almost completely. The baby also was born with one on the back of her shoulder. So this makes me think that yes, it really must be something that runs in families. We were hoping that some studies had been done on this, or that hopefully someone would do some studies on it. I haven't heard of any though. We just had another baby girl 4 weeks ago, and she also has a slight red spot on her forehead in the same place my other daughters was. So far though, it hasn't grown; her sisters was already starting to be raised slightly by age 4 weeks. I sure hope that your son turns out to be fine! That was my greatest fear when we decided to have another child... that it would also be born with a hemangioma. Good luck!!

#3 07-25-2002, 03:26 PM

I had twin girls almost 10 weeks ago... one of the twins has a hemangioma on her face and on her wrist and the other does not have any at all. I have two older sisters and we did not have any hemangiomas, nor do any of their children. In my case, this does not seem to "run in families." Good luck with your newborn son.

#4 10-01-2002, 08:34 PM

Just wanted to comment on hemangiomas and siblings. I am also searching for more definitive studies of this subject. My oldest son, now age 31, was born with a hemangioma on his shoulder about the size of a nickel and disappeared by age 5. My second son, now age 27, was born with a lymphangioma on one side of his face. It affected his check and upper lip area and causes the cheek to be puffy looking and the lip to be puffy and drooping down. As a baby and child it was very pronounced, as an adult he has grown into it somewhat. We were told his vascular birthmark was mild and advised not to do surgery. Now............as my sons are in relationships that could lead to marriage, I feel they need to be informed if they could pass this on to their children. As a note, my sons father was born with a hemangioma. Sure appears that vascular birthmarks are genetic.........at least in our family.

#5 10-02-2002, 08:22 PM

iam 41 and i have 3 sons and i come from a family of 9 and no one in my family has this iam the only one

#6 10-07-2002, 03:16 PM

Vascular lesions such as hemangiomas are thought to be "familial" meaning they run in families. My daughter had one, my twin sister had one, my niece and two of my cousins. On the other hand, vascular malformations are often random, although once in a while I hear of a family that has sibling or relatives with a port wine stain. No one knows for sure, but we are working on some exciting research and hope to unravel this mystery over the next few years.

Linda Shannon
President and Founder, VBF

#7 10-07-2002, 03:21 PM

For all who want to know if vascular birthmark are genetic, well the gene has not been confirmed. That means we cannot say they are genetic. For hemangiomas, we can sometimes say they are familial, meaning they MAY run in a family. For malformations such as port wine stains, lymphatic malformations, venous malformations and AVMs, they are more random and have very rare familial ties. Since 1 in 100 children are born with a vascular birthmark that requires a medical opinion, probability indicates that a random occurrence can also happen in a family. We are eager to find the answer and continue our research. Trust me, the day we know, it will be posted to the front page of this website.

Linda Shannon
President/Founder
VBF

hankbartenbach · #8 10-31-2002, 08:16 AM

Hi my name is Henry Bartenbach I am twenty years old and I have many Port Wine Stains, and vacular malformations (hemangiomas).
Have you went to see a dermatologest in the area you live in. The doctor I went to back in Nebraska excepted my insurance and my parents only payied 20% of the bill. I live in Nevada now and the doctor out here is different.
I have been going to get laser treatment for about 13 years so I have been there and done that.

Last I Know that two out of a hundred children have sturge- weber syndrom. But there is so many different kinds of sturge-weber.
They have a website if you want to look in to it it is www.sturge-weberfoundation.com

If there is any thing you would like to ask me email me at hankinnv@charter.net or just leave me a message in my mail box and I will get back to you.

Talk to you soon and have a great day.

Henry B

#9 01-04-2004, 12:34 AM

In regards to birthmarks being hereditary I don't think so. I am the only one in my huge family going back over a hundred years to have a port wine stain. My daughters were also born without them, thank goodness... Lori