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Treating Hemangioma Birthmarks

By Holly Ames/Medstar

A hemangioma, or so called "strawberry" is a fairly common birthmark in infants. The News Five Medical Team introduces you to a doctor who treats these marks early on, to avoid long term skin damage. Treating Hemangioma Birthmarks

Published: Thu, September 27, 2007 - 2:21 pm Last Updated: Thu, September 27, 2007 - 2:59 pm

This is a big day for Joshua Bolton. He's having surgery to remove a birthmark that appeared soon after his premature delivery. His father is Shane Bolton. "We weren't sure if maybe some tape had come in off on his forehead with all the things that were, that he was attached to but the doctor diagnosed it, and it was a hemangioma." A hemangioma is a vascular tumor that most often develops on the face or head.

Pediatric Facial Plastic Surgeon Milton Waner explains what happens to them. "It will grow to a certain size, stop growing and start shrinking. The whole cycle takes about nine months." While the cycle may be predictable, the size of the resulting lesion and the months or years it takes to shrink, aren't. Waner says, "It can take ten or twelve years, or two or three years."

Dr. Waner believes the earlier they're treated, the better. "We prefer to intervene during the active growth phase of the hemangioma 'cause we feel that with aggressive management, we can actually stop the growth or arrest the growth."

The enlarging hemangioma grows in the dermis layer and replaces collagen, the protein that keeps our skin elastic. When the tumor shrinks, the skin is thin and stretched out. Early treatment was important to Joshua's parents, who wanted people to focus on more than his birthmark.

It's estimated that ten-percent of all babies will develop a hemangioma. Doctor Waner says it is never too late to have the birthmark treated, even those that are several years old.