Monday, September 19, 2011

Surgery #2 for Madeline

Madeline has been monitored by her birthmark Dr., Dr. Waner, for the past few months for some spots that have showed up on her leg.  They started to show up at around 8 weeks old and have continued to pop up over the past year.  Some are darker and some are lighter.  They start at the knee and go all the way down her leg, her ankle, and onto the bottom of her foot.  Here are some not so great photos (its hard to get her to sit still!)







Dr. Waner is not really sure what is causing them, but for now is considering it a venous malformation of the leg.    He decided he wanted to try laser surgery to see how the marks would respond.  Curtis and I were unsure of what to do.  Treat now or wait it out?  I wish I could predict the future and know if this was going to bother her in her teenage years.  The marks are growing with her, which means they will cover a large portion of her leg as an adult.  We ultimately decided to do the surgery for several reasons.   First, the younger skin responds better to the laser treatment.  Second, we wanted to treat it before it became an issue for her socially.  Last, and the biggest, is that we won't always live here and have access to Dr. Waner.  I trust him 100% and would only want him treating her. 


Here are some pics of her surgery on Friday.  We had to wait a long time so I was so glad the hospital clown showed up for a while.  He entertained them for a good 20 minutes!




Here she is with daddy ready to go in.  Her surgery was delayed so we were all happy when it was finally time!



Here is the after.  It looks pretty bad but it doesn't hurt her.  I guess I didn't realize how many spots she actually had until they were all darkened from the laser.  The Dr. wants to see her back in 3 months but said her skin responded very well and hopefully she won't need a second treatment.   I will post an update on her leg in a few weeks to show the fading! 

2 comments:

  1. Glad to hear it went so well. My husband had a birthmark on the back of his arm removed when he was young and it left a huge scar. I'm sure it will be better in no time...kids heal so fast!!

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  2. Glad to hear Madeline did okay with the surgery. Praying this one treatment solves the issue and her marks go away for good!!! Hugs!

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