Poll: how old at removal?

[macyharper]

I have contacted a few different surgeons listed on this site. Dr. Waner is willing to do the surgery as early as 5 months old, others not until a year of age. I know that the reason is that it's best if the H has stopped growing before removing it, but I'm surprised by difference in dr's opinions regarding the age of removal.

How old was your child at the time of removal? Did the H grow back? Thanks!

[AubrieB]

My son had his surgery 11 days before he turned the big ONE! That was about 3 weeks ago, so I don't know if it will grow back, but Dr Buckmiller didn't seem to think that it would.

[mmarrari]

My daughter was 13 months old for her 1st surgery (a partial excision) and the hemangioma did grow back. She had recently stopped steroids so that probably had to do with it (rebound growth). She had a second surgery 2 months later (complete excision), at 15 months old and no more growth since.
I think a lot of Drs are conservative with respect to age because of the risks associated with general anesthesia, but on the other hand, the younger the better/faster the healing, and the less chances of bumping/falling/touching the incision than with older more mobile kids. At least these were the things we discussed with the specialists who saw our daughter.

[Riley's Mom]

Riley's first excision surgery was at one year old. The hemangioma was taken off in 3 surgeries, and she has had 4 scar revision surgeries. Her hemagioma was on her scalp, and had stopped growing at 10 months of age. From 5 months old to 10 months, we did laser and steroid injections every three weeks. Tough decision to make, but Dr. Waner has been a god-send to us. I trust him 100%.
Good Luck!
Kelli B.

[jgoodman0814]

my daughters surgery was 3 weeks prior to her turning 1. our dr was not so concerned with her age, as she did not have enough skin on her arm to close the surgery site back up at age 6 months. he wanted her arm to grow a little. i am sure that age plays a role with anesthesia as well, but i think that you will find more differences in age with how severe the h is or if it is life threatening, or if the child is in pain. dr levitin from this site saw photos of my daughter at age 5 months, and at the time she had a large ulceration that was stubborn to heal. he wanted to do surgery right away. we were right in the beginning of starting steroids, and a few weeks had passed before our next conversation with dr levitin. her ulceration had healed, and he opted to wait since she wasnt in pain anymore. hope this helps. my daughters site is below and you can see before and after pics, and read her story.

[mjwrw]

My daughter had her hemangioma removed by Dr. Reinisch at 13 months of age. It has not reappeared and her scar is fairly minimal and fading over time. Good luck!!

[kandbsmom]

My daughter had hers removed at 4 months old. She is now 15 months and you would never know it was there, and there are no signs of it coming back.