Visit to the Plastic Surgeon's Office...

Okay, okay... so before you freak out, NO... it wasn't for me. Although, I wish it had been cause I've got a couple "problem areas" that could use some work. Ha, ha, ha...

But anyways, this trip to the plastic surgeon's office was for Daniella. Poor girl, she's just barely six months old and this is her second specialist. As Im sure most of you have notice -Daniella has a red "spot" on her left leg. At birth it looked like an normal strawberry birthmark-- and it is a birthmark. But it has grown into what is called a hemangioma.

A HEMANGIOMA is "the most common type of vascular anomaly (birthmark). It is a benign (noncancerous) tumor of the cells, called endothelial cells, that normally line the blood vessels. In hemangiomas, the endothelial cells multiply at an abnormally rapid rate. Infantile hemangiomas have a fairly predictable pattern of growth. Most appear during the first weeks of life and grow rapidly (called the proliferative phase) for 6 to 12 months. Then they begin a much slower process of shrinking, or regressing (called the involuting phase), which may take from one to about seven years. Finally, the tumor enters its final, shrunken state (called the involuted phase), after which it will never regrow. Tumor regression is complete in 50% of children by age 5 and in 70% of children by age 7. By the time a child reaches 10 to 12 years of age, involution of the tumor is always complete. Some residual fatty tissue or thin skin may remain after involution. "

And apparently, they are more common in fair-skinned caucasian female babies.

Anyways... her doctor and I, both agreed that even though it more then likely would go away on its own, eventuall. It should still be looked at. So... off to the plastic surgeon's office we went...

Well, the since Daniella is so young and the "hemangioma" is not obstructing anything, i.e. breathing, vision, hearing, etc. That we should try an alternative route before doing surgery. So he gave her a steroid injection directly in the center of it called corticosteroid. The injection is suppose to help "kill it" and help it to start shrinking faster.

I take her back to the plastic surgeon's office in once months time and if nothing has changed or no progess has been made... it will be surgically removed.

*Warning: Before you look at these pictures... no, Makayla's bangs are no longer "shaggy". I do give my girls hair cuts, it's just been a while. I actually wanted her to grow her bangs out to the lenghth of her hair but it just started to look rediculous. So YES, she did get a hair cut. :)

Such a good girl, waiting patiently.