Hemangioma on Newborn's Head

My DD has one on her tongue and they are monitoring it. I know others who have had them and they went away without leaving any evidence that they were ever there. I also work in the medical filed and learned in school that these almost always go away and are not problematic at all. If you are very concerned get a second opinion from another MD. 6 weeks is awful young to have this treated now. I would wait.

Hi, My first son had one too on his forehead. I was worried about it until his bangs started growing over it and then thought I would just wait until he was in school to have it removed if it was still there... didn't have to... it dissapeared completely by age 3!

Hi, My son got a Hemangioma on his head as well when he was about 6 weeks old too. It actually grew bigger and was the biggest at about 7 months old. By the time he turned 1 years old it was really covered by his hair and was not swollen or raised anymore. By the time he was 2 years old it was completely gone. I went to a Pediatric Dermatologist and he said they only remove them if they are in a spot where the infant would touch them like on their face. He thought my sons was in a good spot.

Good Luck!

My niece had a rather large one on her lower lip. She went to specialists and they all said the same thing: just wait. She is now 4 and it has almost completely disappeared. The docs told the parents that if it wasn't gone by the time she started kindergarten, that they may want to have it removed at that point. No need now. Best of luck!

Hi T.,
My son had a hemangioma above his right eye since a few weeks after birth. It did grow and become rasied and quite red. My husband and I teetered with what to do because it was so noticeable and people were looking. We did decide to have it removed by Dr. Rienisch(spelling?) at Cedars, when he was 9 months old. Putting him under was hard, but it was all worth it. It was the BEST decision we could have made. He is now almost 2 and there is no scar!!

I had/have a hemangioma on my forehead. It stopped growing by the time I was around 18 months or so and lost it's color by the time I was 4-5. Then it started shrinking back down and was completely flat by maybe age 12 (but once it lost it's color it really wasn't noticeable). It's barely noticeable now. Since it was so long ago, mine went untreated b/c they thought it might be connected to my brain. It wasn't , I'm fine.

I am a mother of a 4 year old. He was born with one on his back. It got bigger until he was about 2. At 3 yrs old I started to notice that it was getting flatter and darker he is almost 4 and it looks much smaller now. I for one asked the Dr. to remove it but she reassured me that it will go away on his own and if it bled than we could do surgery. Luckily nothing happened and he is fine. I would think it will be completely gone by 5 or 6. My girlfriend's daughter was born with one on the right side of her head but her hair has grown and it covers it. I would not worry and just enjoy that perfect baby of yours.

Hi T.,

Those of us in the alternative med field are aware that hemangiomas are a local manifestation of something more systemic. This can be resolved with constitutional homeopathic treatment, and young children and infants respond fantastically to homeopathy because their vital force is so strong. I can help you find a solid practitioner in your area if you e-mail me...I travel back and forth between CA and AZ and know practitioners in both states.

Be well,

S. I., L.Ac., HMA
Lotus Wellspring Healthcare
456 E. Mission Road, Suite 100
San Marcos, CA 92069
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.lotuswellspring.com

Hello, my daughter was born 8/3/06. Um she had one on her head, and one on her tummy. The one on her head was raised and puffy (filled with blood) the one on her tummy was flat like a strawberry patch. When she was born the one on her head didn't pop out right away. It was a few weeks later that it popped out really big. Probably the size of a quarter and really puffy. I took her to a dermatologis in the hospital and they said they could give her steroid treatment, or just let it go away on it's own. I decided to give it time to see if it would shrink. She's 3 now and the one on her head is almost gone. It isn't puffy or anything. Now I would say it's the size of a nickle. You can barely tell it's even there. The one on her tummy, it looks the same, but not as red...Like a birth mark...I would say give it time, I would mesure it, and keep an eye on it's progress. If you see that it's getting worse, then I would say yeah do something before it gets out of control. I hope this helpds you....Don't worry...I'm sure it will shrink...I know I worried to... Take care

My godson had one on his forehead as well and it completely disappeared by the time he was three. It was a decent size when he was born and as time passed, it kept getting smaller and smaller til it was no longer there. I know how you feel though hearing conflicting information so I would get a second opinion just to ease your mind.

They do go away. HOWEVER, some can be removed and the ONLY Dr. you should see if Dr. John Reinisch ###-###-####
250 N. Robertson Suite 506
Beverly hills, Ca 90211

my son had 3 hemangiomas, one which was behind his ear and kept growing until his ear was quite pushed forward and it was noticeably different. i got so much different advice and saw a specialist in san diego (faces plus, i think). it really depends on where the hemangioma is and whether it can cause problems with other structures like ear, nose, throat, eyes, etc. we reluctantly scheduled my son for the surgery and then he got sick right before it and we canceled it. we then met another doctor who was a pediatrician from NZ when we were on vacation and he said do nothing, that americans were so quick to suggest surgery for basically esthetic reasons. as a result we never had the surgery and it healed on its own and was completely gone by age 4. i am so glad we were patient and did nothing! good luck and go with mommy instinct!

I have several friends who had babies born with them. In each case they did resolve on their own. No treatment needed.

www.thosecrazybeans.blogspot.com

My daughter had a hemangioma on her nose. It started out as a dot on the tip of her nose. It grew to be the size of a gumball by the time she was 10 months old. It was red and purple. We were also told to wait until she was 5 years old, and it would disappear by itself. We went to many appointments and Childrens and Kaiser. After several doctors looked at it, one doctor determined that it would cause problems with her breathing. At ten months old, a plastic surgeon at Kaiser(Dr. McMillan) successfully removed the hemangioma. Sending her off to surgery was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Being a new mom, I questioned ever decision, especially this one. Now, her nose looks great!

My nephew had one on his head. It disappeared without any treatment. Each case must be unique.

My youngest little guy has four hemangiomas - all range in size and two are located on his face (cheek and outer corner of right eye). We also went to a couple derms to have them check out the location of the hemangiomas and give us opinions on possible treatment. Pediatricians and the dermatologists have all said that the hemangiomas should resolve by 2-5 years of age without surgical intervention. I would rather wait it out than put my little one under general anaesthesia for something that is primarily considered a cosmetic procedure.

The only downside to having a child with a mark on their face (for however long) is the questions that seem to literally LEAP out of people's mouths! (= At first I was a bit annoyed at everyone asking "what happened to his face" but after a few times I developed a stock answer and it doesn't bother me any longer.

A.

My daughter had one on her back at birth, about the size of a silver dollar, raised, puffy and very red. By the time she was four it lost all color. At age 10 you can't even tell where it was.

My best friends son was born with 3 of them! he had one on the top of his head, one on his back , and one on his chest (they were all really big!). At age 2 we started to notice that they were going down, and at age five the one on his chest and back were gone, but the one on the top of his head is still there but not noticeable unless she shaves his head. Look into the rish of having them removed at such a young age... it's scary.

The ones that need to be removed are usually very large and can obscure the eyes, etc. It's really up to you. My daughter had a pretty large one on her chest and it has gradually faded over time, and now just looks like a small pale pink mole. She's 9. It really depends on how much it bothers you and how much you think it would bother your son, but it will get better over time.

Hi! My twin 1 year old daughter has one the size of a quarter on the small of her back. Due to insurance we have had to switch pediatricians 4 times. All 4 docs have said the same thing as your doctor. To leave it alone as they almost always resolve themselves and leave no marks behind. Hard to believe bc it is sovred and raised, but trusting that 4 different docs hopefully know what They are talking about. Good luck with this.

My 8 month old son has one on his chest. At first it was so tiny that I thought it was just a red mark from the things attached to him in the NICU. It is now about the size of a dime, maybe larger, and raised about 1/4". Our ped referred him to a dermatologist, but they said what everyone else has said: it will grow until maybe 2 years old, then shrink and resolve itself. They said they have an infant patient whose mom insisted on having it treated via a series of steroid injections...and that the poor baby is very unhappy with each visit. I can only imagine. We decided to let nature take its course and will wait and see what happens.

My Husband was born with one. A superficial hemangioma. It did not resolve itself.
When he was older, older than 5 years old sometime, it was removed surgically.
His was located on his forehead. A big round one.
It was removed per HIS type/size/location on his face.
He now as an adult, has a light scar that looks like Harry Potter's "lightning bolt" scar on his forehead. His hemangioma was cut out like a 'lightning bolt' so that the skin could stretch properly & be sutured together as it healed and per the surgeon, this would be the best "cut."
Each case is different. I want to stress that.
But now as an adult, you can barely even see my Hubby's scar on his forehead. I always joke with him the he is the 1st "Harry Potter."

All the best,
Susan