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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
Suparstarz714
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I had my first laser treatment for my birthmark removal
Suparstarz714
member
I was super excited for today- I have a pretty wide spread birthmark (covers my arm, most of my back, a spot on my chest, and from my knee down on my leg). I have been waiting and wanting to get this done pretty much my whole life.
I really didn't know what to expect, since really nothing online describe the treatment well nor showed very good immediatly after photos. Well it look horrid right now, but the purple spots will fade in about 2 weeks and I will be ready for my second treatment in about 3-4 weeks :-)
The pain on my arm wasn't too bad, but when he did my back, he upped the setting and it hurt A LOT more. Only thing that stinks is it feels like I have REALLY bad sunburn, and DS is constantly wanting held and smacking and grabbing me.
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Re: I had my first laser treatment for my birthmark removal
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
The name of the laser began with a C- The technician described it as Port Wine Stain, but most of the other dermatologists described it as hemangioma.
Candela V-Beam Perfecta? That's the one we use. I would agree with the tech...hemangiomas resolve eventually, and it's super rare to have a hemangioma that big. Port Wine Stains never go away without laser treatment and are often wide spread. Either way, glad you got a good treatment! The purple (called purpura) is a great sign!! Make sure you wear TONS of sunscreen so that you don't burn. How often are you going? We recommend monthly treatments.
ETA: Just saw you go back in 3-4 weeks. If it is uncomfortable, you can use ice packs or hydrocortisone to relieve the burn.
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
I find this post very interested, because Sebastian has laser treatment once a month for a port wine birthmark. It covers the left side of his chest and back and goes down his left leg. The doctor always says it doesn't hurt, but I've never been convinced by that answer. Now I feel really sad that my baby has to endure this pain once a month. Does the doctor have you put on a numbing cream ahead of time? Sebastian does an hour before he has his treatment. I know in the long run it's a good thing, because it hardens as they get older and can cause circulation problems. It never seems to bother him afterwards, just during the process. Here's a picture of Sebastian after his treatment. Is this what it looks like for you, too? I hope it gets better for you.
He looks like he's responding very well! He has great purpura. I don't want to scare you, but it's not pleasant (I do my own spider veins all the time). It's not the worst thing in the world. Be careful with the numbing cream...it's lodcaine (or some derivative of it) and when used on large body surface area, can cause heart arrhythmias...for large areas, we take the babies/kids to the OR under nitrous oxide so they are not uncomortable.
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
Trust me, your son will thank you for getting it removed at an early age.
I didn't have any numbing creams- just Ice and motrin afterward (and still icing). Maybe they are using a lower setting on S, on my arm it wasn't THAT bad, but when he upped the setting (from 6 to 7) on my back, it hurt pretty bad (I wasn't like in tears, but it was pretty painful). If it hurt, I am sure S wouldn't sit through it.
I am going to upload an after pic in just a sec so you can see my "after"
g8orell: I meant to ask my Dr this but I forgot, DS has swim lessons tomorrow, do you think it is okay for me to get in the pool with him tomorrow. ((other than the fact that there is no way to hide the purpura))
The doctor never told me that. Now I'm freaking out. I'll have to ask him about this next time he goes in. Thanks for letting me know. It's so sad when he has the treatment, his cry breaks my heart. I feel like the worse person in the world, because he reaches out for me. The best thing I can do is reassure him, and hope it ends quickly.
These were right after I got home and I took them on my phone so they aren't the greatest. (You can't really see how bad my birthmark is because the lighting isn't that great.)
Sebastian's skin doesn't raise up like yours. That looks painful. I hope your skin reacts well and quickly, so you won't have to do it as long.
Not even right after? the welting is pretty much all gone, just the spots aka purpura. These pics were like right when I got home after the treatment.
Superstarz- that's a great response! Looks like a port wine stain to me! I wouldn't go in the pool tomorrow; we usually tell the moms no pool for a week because of the bacteria. Can someone else take your LO?
Symharmony- you are doing the best thing for him. I would do it 100% if it were DD. She had a tiny one (the size of a pea) on her leg and I lasered in at 6 weeks, and again at 12 weeks and now it's gone. She cried and I felt horrible, but now she has nothing. He'll never remember this...and like superstarz said, he'll appreciate you for it. To make you feel better, studies show that the earlier you start the treatment, the better & faster the response. Def. check wi
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
Thanks I will. He started his treatments at a month old. The doctor said that the first six months of life has the best results. I'm glad I'm doing it now, but it's still hard to see him like that.
As someone who had to wait this long to get it removed- S will be so thankful. DH pretty much thinks I am nuts for going through this, but he doesn't understand and unless you have something like that, you wouldn't either, ya know. In school kids would tease me about it, and teachers would ask me about it (by 2nd grade I would make my mom call the teacher before the 1st day of school and tell them about it so that they wouldn't ask me in front of the other kids). Now if I go to a new doctor they ask about it (what it is, ect). Even today the nurse asked if I had it my whole life- and she didn't mean it it to be mean and I didn't take it like that, but it gets really old people asking you about it. So just be reassured you REALLY are doing the right thing for him :-)
I didn't take a specific "before" pic (the dr did)... but let me see if I can find a pic that shows it pretty clearly.
Here are a few that you can see the birthmark on my arm:
You can see the Birthmark on my chest here and kinda see the difference in skin tone between my right and left arms
I hope it's ok if I but in -- g8orell -- DD has a hemangioma on her chest. Is it something that can be taken care of by laser treatments? DD's doctor said it *should* go away but only time will tell. Is it better to be preventative now and try to remove it or wait for it to hopefully go away on it's own?
Super - that does look like my DD's. When she was born they said it would go away, but it is still there. You can kind of see it in the pic. It is most of her left hand, her left arm, and it goes on to her shoulder. I debated having something done with it since she is older, but I know she won't be able to handle the pain. She has similar stories about kids at school.
That's a tough call. It is small, so if it were anywhere else, I'd say leave it alone. But it's on her breast...we have a few baby girls that have breast buds from the hemangioma. No one is sure of the consequences of this in the future - differing breast size, unable to breastfeed, etc. A little boy, no big deal, but it may be a big deal to her. I would have your pedi order an ultrasound to see if it is in teh breast bud, and if not, don't worry about it. If it is, then I would do laser and/or oral medication to shrink it. It is NOTHING that will harm her...we just don't know how it will physically affect her breast. From the pic it looks like it's not touching the nipple, so that's good. How old is she? Literature suggests that they grow for the first 6 months of life (although some lit says up to 16 months)...after that they shrink and disappear. If you haven't noticed any growth, then I would think she's passed the proliferative phase. But I would personally get an ultrasound of the breast...it's non-invasive and won't hurt her!
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
Since she is older, talk to her about it- by the time I was 6 I knew I wanted it removed, but back than the only way I could get it done was tiny sections at a time driving an hour away for each treatment.
If it bothers her, maybe they can put her under for the laser treatment, the "after" isn't as bad as the actual laser. Or maybe they can do it on a lower setting so it won't hurt as bad. I would talk to your Pedi and get a recomendation of who to go to in your area. I am seeing a plastic surgeon, but I know that dermatologists do this too.
An ultrasound to see if it was in the breast bud was never brought up to us as an option -- so thank you for bringing that up. It sits right next to her areola and so hopefully it won't affect being able to breastfeed as an adult or having different breast sizes. She is 11 months and it did stop growing around 6/7 months. Being a woman, I do think about how it could affect her self esteem and being 'different' -- DH doesn't seem to think about it much but again, he's not a woman and doesn't have breasts.
Thank you again!