6 week old with fast growing H - laser or drug treatment?

[JessieIvy]

Hi,

I have a 5 1/2 week old who has a quickly growing hemangioma. It started as a light pink spot after a few days and then rapidly became bright red and dense. It has developed a bit of texture.

We are anxious to start treatment since we've heard that early treatment before the H begins to raise off the skin is more effective than if we wait. We are hoping to get advice on whether to seek the laser treatment route or the drug treatment route.

Thank you very much for your advice and support - I am so relieved to have found this website.

I attached a pic taken a few days after my son was born and one taken tonight (not a great pic - but it shows the current status of his H).

Thanks again!
Jessie

[smurph]

HI there! Welcome! Your son is such a cutie. I know it can be so hard at the beginning when you are trying to figure out what the best approach to take is. My daughter is 6 now and I remember those days like they were yesterday. I'm not sure if laser or drugs are the best approach but I think a specialist might be able to give you some more insight. Have you gone to see a doctor who specializes in vascular birthmarks? Every hemangioma is different. Three of my children have hemangiomas..only one required treatment (drugs, surgery, then laser). So I think getting the opinion of a specialist or two is the best way to go. You can also email the doctors on here and they will give you their opinion. I'm thinking of you as you try to figure it out. I'm sure he will do great and please keep us posted! This forum has been a lifeline for me during these past years. The support is great and it is good to hear from others who are going through the same thing. Good luck!
shannon

[sheaffe]

Hi Jessie. We had a similar situation with our son (who is now 1) and ended up just being able to have laser surgery with topical Timolol because we started treatment so early. My advice would be to find a Dr who specialises in birthmarks (not just any old Dr). I definitely know that the sooner you start treatment the better though! This thread has a few pictures of our progress http://174.120.2.174/board/showthread.php?t=4093

Good luck and I hope you find the help you are looking for!

[JessieIvy]

Thank you for the link to the post about your son (who is adorable!!!). I'm glad he had such great progress! We started laser treatment with Dr. Geronemus in NY (who we found through VBF) about a week ago. I'm hopeful that we will have good results. I may ask him about timolol as well.

[kizzynmw]

hi all, i haven't got any kids like the rest of you lol, but i just stumbled upon this website while googling, im 21 and i have a 'birthmark' on the left side of my face which also is on my left upper lip,which makes it swollen. to be quite honest im not really sure what type it is, or anything like that. but i do know that when i was younger i had laser treatment up until the age of around 7-8. when i was younger my birthmark was a lot darker and larger on my face, and the treatment shrunk it n lightened it. After the course of treatment i had, nothing was done about it, up until about a year when i went to have a tooth extraction and coz the birthmark is inside my mouth i got referred to a vascular specialist to make sure it was safe. the specialist talked to me about camouflage make-up for the colour of it and also plastic surgery for my lip, i wasn't bothered about the camouflage make up as im not too fussed anymore and i don't notice it to be quite honest, however i am going for the plastic surgery, it will be a staged reduction, as to ensure the surgeons do not remove any muscle they will do it gradually. Any1 else heard/had anything like this.........? Ive looked at some of the photos people have uploaded and can't see anything that looks like mine lol, one of a kind.
Ive tried 2 upload a pic, but not sure how lol, if any1 could help me on that aswell lol x

[smurph]

Kizzynmv,
Did the doctor who will be doing your surgery give you a name for your birthmark? It is not likely to be a hemangioma. There are some doctors here on the Ask the Expert page that you could email photos to and you can tell them your situation...they can give you an opinion about a treatment plan and you can see if it is similar to what your doctor has said. Hope you find the info you are looking for. Good luck with everything!
Shannon

[nickbar]

please feel free to email me photos and I can forward them to the experts.