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…
2 years 3 months….
3 1/2 years (he now also has a scar right next to his mark after falling)
4 years old
4 1/2 (he is showing the bump he got on the playground)
5 years old
7 3/4 years
Love pictures of Khena! He’s so beautiful! This was a great post though for documenting your experience!
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.
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 😉
he is so darn cute I love seeing the progression of his photos. what a bright shining light he is!
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 🙂
Good lord, he’s a cute kid! I want to hug him right through the computer.
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!
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
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.
You have a beautiful son, gorgeous eyes. My son’s strawberry mark appeared around 1 week old, we were concerned at how quick it got bigger and puffy, he is now 3 months old. It seems to be grey in the centre (his mark is around 3cm long by 2.5cm) It’s nice to see images of progression on your website as I have been looking for a couple of months for something similar. Other people have reassured me that it will fade in time.
Thank you so much for sharing. There are tons or articles about hemangiomas on the internet, but very few that show an example of the progession of one. My two month old has one on her scalp. It is so scary not knowing how big it will get. And it is VERY FRUSTRATING to be told that doctors won’t do anything about it. I don’t understand why, if there are safe treatments, then why not? Anyway, your son is such a cutie.
You are very welcome… He did have a much bigger one on his scalp but it was under his hair and was gone by the time he was one. Really though, I don’t think that anything should be done if it is only cosmetic because though there may be “safe” treatments, there are always risks so it is encouraging to hear that a doctor would not treat for only cosmetic reasons when it most likely will fade by itself.
thanks for the photos! my 3 year old daughter has 3 hemangiomas; one about the size of a nickle on the very top of her head, one thats about an inch long but very narrow on her lower back and a large one, about a 2 x 3 inch oval, on her chest. That one is going to require surgery but the other 2 are beginning to fade. there is a really good video on youtube about the ‘life and death’ of a hemangioma.
Hi There. I just wanted to thank you for this post and these photos! My 11-month old son has had one since about 3 weeks in nearly the identical spot to your son. I found your page a few months ago and it was super reassuring to see the progression. I also wanted to say your son is so handsome, and you are a great photographer. Thanks for sharing your story and talents. 🙂
Hi there, thank you very much for your post and your son is absolutely gorgeous! Can I ask how old he is now and if the harmangioma had totally disappeared? My daughter is 14 months and has one on top of her lip. It seems to have progressed at the same rate as your sons and hoping it will diasappear!
He is now nearly 8 and I updated the post with a new picture 🙂
There hasn’t been much change over the last years but no one notices it now and neither do we 🙂
Thanks for this, a good read when thinking about surgery. My LO is 15months and it looks exactly this same as your sons did at that age.