Progression of a strawberry mark…
Posted on Mar 19th, 09 under Medical Maladies, Photos, The Boys | 9 Comments19 Mar
I have been thinking about showing the progression of Khéna’s haemangioma for a while now and after a conversation with Annie the other day, I thought it would be a good time… ( I know that I would have liked to see something simular when I saw that he had one)
First… what is it? (you might not imagine how many times I have had to answer this out in public)
Infantile haemangioma (American spelling ‘hemangioma’) describes a benign (non-cancerous) condition affecting cutaneous blood vessels. It is also known as proliferative haemangioma because it is due to proliferating endothelial cells; these are the cells that line blood vessels.
Infantile haemangiomas are proliferative lesions that usually develop shortly after birth. They are distinct from vascular malformations, which are usually present at birth and are less common.
Over 80% of infantile haemangiomas occur on the head and neck area. They grow to 80% of maximum size in the first three months and most stop growing at about 5 months. However, they may keep growing for up to 18 months.
After that, they undergo regression or involution. This can take as long as 3-10 years. Nearly all flat infantile haemangiomas eventually involute and disappear without treatment. However, regression of bulky haemangiomas tends to be incomplete, and they may leave an irregular atrophic (thin) scar or anetoderma (a dented scar) in at least 50% of cases.
though you don’t see it, he had an even bigger one under his hair but it grew quicker and faded completely by 18 months…
(you can see all of his pics here)
3 days old (no sign of it)
2 weeks old (you start seeing it)
1 month
2 months
3 months
from 5 months to about 14 months it was at it’s most intense… it was really thick and looked like it could burst….
(this is at about a year… it was more raised than this for a few months)
From 13 months to 18 months it pinked up…
14 months
15 months
At 18 months the middle became flesh coloured and it was no longer as raised and squishy…
second birthday… you can see it is fading more…
now… 2 years 3 months….
Possibly Related Posts:
- A few pics from this morning…
- First snow storm of the year…
- More Drawing…
- Trimming the tree…
- Khéna’s birthday in pictures…
by Annie, on March 19 2009 @ 10:34 am
Love pictures of Khena! He’s so beautiful! This was a great post though for documenting your experience!
by Sara, on March 19 2009 @ 11:53 am
Thank you for posting this link on my blog. It was much more encouraging than the pictures I have seen on Google. Lily’s hemangioma at 7 weeks looks like your son’s at 3 months but we are hoping it will progress in a similar fashion.
by paxye, on March 19 2009 @ 12:19 pm
No problem, I know exactly how it feels to see it progress and wonder how it will look later on… (and to not find anything helpful with google images)
Like I mentioned also, he had another one on his head under his hair that progressed more quickly, was much bigger but was gone by 18 months…
At first it was hard at times to not notice it… now I surprise myself when I do notice it
by amanda, on March 19 2009 @ 12:37 pm
he is so darn cute I love seeing the progression of his photos. what a bright shining light he is!
by Christina, on March 19 2009 @ 2:34 pm
He is such a cutie
I was wondering if that was a hemangioma. My step-sister had a hemangioma on her cheek. she was about 4 when i first met her (my mom and step-dad got married when she was about 5). it started out smaller but when i met her it was from the top of her cheek to her chin and stuck out a few inches. she had to have lots of surgery’s for whatever reason to have it removed – i don’t remember i was young. If I can find some old pics i can send them to you. Just wanted to share 
by Sarah, on March 19 2009 @ 5:18 pm
Good lord, he’s a cute kid! I want to hug him right through the computer.
by Krista, on March 20 2009 @ 9:18 am
What a beautiful child. I have the exact same one on my forehead only a couple of inches away from your son’s. It’s under my bangs but when the wind blows my hair up it says hello to the world. Mine started as a teeny tiny dot when I was about 30, and it grows a tiny bit all the time, very much at the same progression as Khéna’s haemangioma. It’s a three year wait list here to see a skin surgeon so I guess it’s better that I make friends with it and forget about dealing with it. It’s nice to read here that maybe it will stop growing one day? I’m just thankful that it’s harmless. Thanks for sharing this!
by sarah, on March 30 2009 @ 11:53 pm
hi there.. your children are gorgeous and we love reading your blog : ).. my middle daughter also has one similar on her forehead, although hers has always been completely flat but when she was young it was very red, she is now 4.5years old and although you can still see it it has faded dramatically.. hers starting showing at around a few weeks of age, we have been told that when older she could get it lasered off,, although im hoping it fades even more over the next few years.. she isnt bothered about it at all, she has had a few people ask her if she has hit her head but other then that not many people really notice it now.. thanks for showing us the transformation i must go and get some pictures and see how much my daughters has changed over the last 4 years
by Lisa, on August 20 2009 @ 8:12 pm
Thank you so much for sharing your pictures. My daughter has one on her chin and at 3 months it has gotten a lot bigger, but it is starting to turn white. Hopefully, that is a sign it is going to fade. I can’t believe how many people ask “What’s that” or “What happened” or “did she get burned.” It is really annoying that people don’t see past that. Your pictures of your baby has reassured me.