Nephew Has a Large Congenital Nevus on His Face and Head

There is a doctor with the Childrens Hospital in Little Rock AR that is a specialest in this type of birthmark.

My daughter has two strawberry hemangiomas on her torso. They are being treated by Dr. Lisa Buckmiller at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Ask the pediatrician if he/she thinks seeing a specialist is necessary. Being on the head, it probably is. Also, be careful with the internet, it can scare you. A very good website is http://groups.msn.com/vascularbirthmarksupport

If you want any more info, let me know. It can also be a battle with the insurance and can be costly. Luckily, my daughter hasn't had any health issues due to her birthmarks, but she has had three laser treatments and is due for excision in March. There are very few physicians/surgeons in the entire US that are specially trained to treat particular birthmarks. Not just any plastic surgeon will treat them. Good luck!

I would suggest talking with your pediatrician to get a referral to a pediatric dermatologist. There are many laser treatments available now that can probably get rid of the mole over a series although I don't know the details or ages that this can be done.

God left his handprint while he was holding and comforting the baby..

Very Sorry for your lose,my heart goes out to you. But as far as your nephew there parents should take him to a dermatolagist. there are DR'S. that do a laser proceedure to reduce the darkness of the Nevus, but at what age do they start i am unsure. There main physcian should beable to refer them to a DR. that specialize in this. Wish all of you the best. SAHM of 5 boys married for 18 yrs.

Make an appointment with Dr. McBurney in Slidell. She is an excellent dermatologist and is excellent in Laser treatments. My granddaughter was born with a large birthmark and she started treatments on her when she was very young. The insurance did give us a few problems at first but they finally paid. Good Luck.

Thank your for being a Military Mom! I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your son. He was a great person for giving his life for this country and our freedoms!

Make sure that your peditrician keeps an eye on it. Being that it is on his head it would be really extensive surgeries to have it removed. I watched a show on Discovery Health about this type of birthmark. As for how to handle the general public that will be hard. I have had many questions about my now 4 year old who has congenital muscular dystrophy. She doesn't walk straight at all & she sometimes gets these looks on her face that only I understand. If you see her sitting in my buggy you would think she was a completely normal little girl but not the case. You just really have to learn how to deal with the stares & questions. Most people stare or ask questions due to curiosity & fear. It is a hard road but with great support from your family & friends it will get easier. I hope this helps.

My little girl has a birthmark on the side of her head above the ear right next to her temple. I don't think that is what the doctor called it, but it is now almost completely gone. I had the same reaction from people with her and it is frustrating because your child is always the most beautiful thing that you will ever see. My daughters first doctors visit he saw it and listened to it with his stethiscope and said that she would be fine. It was the size of about 2 quarters and so dark of a purple that it was almost black, now it is a little bit samller and so light of a purple that you can barely see it. They told me that she would be 3 to 4 years old by the time it went away and now she is 19 months old. If I were you I would bring the baby to the doctor and let them listen to it. What I mean by that is they will listen to see if their are any blood vessels going to it to see if they will need to remove it or if it will go away on its own. From what I under stood from her doctor is that it is a painless surgery. But I guess it also depends on where it is at. Good luck and pay NO attention from the other people. People are very cruel and they teach their kids the same. Always remember that that baby is beautiful and you guys love him dearly.

I know my brothers daughter has one on her back its about the size of my fist. They can be removed. It depends on the size and location of it. Some can be stitched and the larger ones will probably need a skin graft. It has alot to do will size and the location. You could see a cosmetic doctor that handles these issues. You could search the web for a doctor that could give you more info. I hope this helped.

First let me extend my heartfelt sympathies on the loss of your son. You are going through some difficult times right now, and bless you for giving your love and caring to your nephew. I don't know anything about the situation with your nephew - but have the doctors recommended a specialist, or given any advice at all? It sounds like perhaps a support group might be in order, but I am not sure about what is available. I know some folks who have had to deal with the thoughtlessness of others concerning birthmarks, etc., and they were, to some extent, able to turn it into something less hurtful with humour. I will certainly pray that you all find some comfort and a possible solution for this situation. Good luck.

Have you had a dermatologist look at it? I would do that first. It could be something else (misdiagnosis maybe?) and should be looked at...perhaps people are concerned or curious since it is different. Just tell them it's a birthmark... they'll probably coo or say oh, or just quit staring...or you can explain it to them, if you have the time to educate them. My grandfather had a spot that came up on him as he got older and he used some mineral oil on it, and believe it or not, but the area faded and went away. So you could look into home remedies and "naturopathic" cures...but be careful...some of those things aren't harmless. Even vitamins can be toxic and not everyone who professes to know what they are doing really does.

Hi T.:
First and foremost, I will be praying for you and for your family. I am sorry for your loss. I will be 46 next month and have one daughter age 21. I can't even imagine how much pain you must be feeling and I will be praying that our Awesome God will comfort you as only He can. I am thankful that you have a strong family support system to help you during this difficult time. It appears that you do from the words that you express regarding the love you feel for your 13 year old step son. I am also glad to see you are a nursing student...good luck with that. My daughter has chosen that field and will complete her basics and enter nursing school real soon. I will be praying for you in that area as well.
While I am not familiar with Congenital Nevus, I have been in the business side of the medical field for years working in insurance. I also have dealt with my mother last year who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is doing very well now. I am telling you this because a good place to start with a challenging diagnosis is the internet. I have had great success with the following website for various situations thedoctorsdoctor.com and you can also just type in congenital nevus support group and it will provide an number of links to other websites that might be helpful. I have also found the hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic and Scott and White Hospital in Temple Texas to have excellent website information if you type in their name under google or yahoo. Often you will find links to excellent physicians that specialize in the diagnosis that you are looking for at their websites. I truly hope this information is useful and of course, I will be praying for your little nephew and his family. May God continue to bless you always.

One of the girls my daughter has gone to school with since preschool (she is now 13) has a dark birthmark on the side of her face below her eye, which may or not be the same thing as your nephews, but it is large and dark. However, she is a beautiful talented girl, who never seemed to let the mark bother her. She did tell me one day this year though that they had made plans to have it removed before she went to college.

Sympathies to your son and know that we all pray for those in Iraq and appreciate them serving our country!

I know this is an old question now, but wanted to respond in case others came across it. My daughter has a large congential nevus. There is a wonderful organization Nevus Outreach (http://www.nevus.org/) that is a wellspring of information and support for nevus owners and parents of nevus owners. If you need information or just to contact people who know where you are, this is the place to go. I hope your nephew is well and healthy.