Hemangioma Update! 6 Months Post Op!

I can't believe it has already been 6 months since Madeline had her hemangioma removed! I must say I have zero regrets in having the surgery done. You can't even tell she ever had anything on the top of her head.

Hemangioma's are still dealt with mainly with the "wait and see" approach. Many are not aware that there are doctors who deal with these in terms of drug therapy, laser therapy, and surgery. We were very fortunate to know someone with a hemangioma that was currently being treated and they helped steer us in the right direction in terms of helping Madeline. Her friend Sarah from ballet class was born with a severe hemangioma covering a large portion of her face. She had been in treatment since she was an infant. Her mom, Kim, is the one who told us about Dr. Waner in NYC. Luckily we were moving to NY so meeting with him would be an easy task. We met with him in mid July and were told of our options. 1. Do nothing (not an option for her), 2. Drug therapy (also not the best option as her type of hemangioma did not do super well on drug therapy), or 3. Surgery.

Dr. Waner informed us that Madeline's hemangioma would probably not go away until she was well into grade school (around 9 years old). It could also cause saggy skin to be left behind and lack of hair growth. The decision for surgery was our best option. Although this decision is somewhat controversial with most doctors, waiting to see how much bigger it would get was not an option. It still had the chance to grow up to 50% more than it already was in size, and her hair was not going to cover it. Her hemangioma was removed when she was 4.5 months old on Sept. 8, 2010. We had a follow up appointment in November. They said her scar was healing well and they want us to come back in May to check it one more time as her hair grows in.

Here she is in preop:


Here she is after surgery (got her drainage tube out this day):


Here she is today! It healed beautifully and we could not be happier!





If you would like to check out Brooke's friend Sarah's hemangioma journey, click HERE. Her parents informing me a of Dr. Waner at the Vascular Birthmark Institute helped speed along our treatment process.