My daughter was born with red vascular birthmark on her nose. It goes from the outside of her right eyebrow (between her eyebrows) to the middle of her nose on her bridge to the side of her eye to the bulb(???) of her nose. It is in the shape of a "D". It is an inch long and half an inch wide. It doesn't go under her eye just to the corner of her eye and down her nose. From birth they have said angel kiss and will go away by the time she is 18 months. Then pediatrician talked with someone in her office to double check diagnosis. they said AK as well. But that got me worried so I decided to go to pedi dermatologist and he said PWS and it will never go away without treatment. Pedi plastic surgeon said the same thing. It has definitely lightened up since she was born almost 3 months ago. It was very dark when she was born and now is pretty light. It is usually darker when she is mad vs when she is calm or asleep. I don't want to put my daughter through the laser treatment unless it is absolutely necessary. AK is supposed to be very common (40-50% of newborns) and PWS is supposed to be very rare (only 0.3% of newborns). I think that both are just trying to get the money for the laser surgery. I have told both I wanted to wait until she was at least a year old before doing any treatment.
I would like to know anyone's personal experiences with either.
Thank you so much for any input!
PWS gets darker and more pronounced as your child grows. that's something we were worried about with our youngest. He had an angel kiss right between the eyebrows on his forehead. Very noticeable. It has faded as he has gotten older now two. When he gets hot or angry it's more pronounced but definitely not a pws. I've had laser on my face and really if your daughter needed it shed' be ok. Sounds like hers has faded. No worries.
a pws would be getting darker i think... i think its wise to wait and see what happens with it. no need to rush into laser therapy.
Obviously I have no idea what your daughter has. But my daughter was born with a few angel kisses, but they aren't on her face. Hers are much smaller than you describe and are scattered here or there along the edges of her hairline (she has super fine blonde hair, so they are easy to see) and the back of her neck along or just inside the hairline as well. When she was a baby, she tended to get extremely blotchy when she cried hard. To the point she almost looked like she has some sort of allergic reaction.
It scared me the first time she really cried because she was mad (not hunger cries), because that was the first time I really noticed how red and blotchy she became. I don't know, looking back on it, if it was the AK's that were dark or not... But, she is 10 yrs old now and she still has little spots. They never grew any bigger and most around the size of a pencil eraser, maybe a tad larger or smaller. They might have faded a little, but her skin is so fair that they are easily visible. Almost look like tan freckles now. We never pursued any treatment whatsoever because they are not on her face and they is no medical reason to do so.
i would wait. i was born with a pretty hideous birthmark, and it hung around until i was well over a year old. there's a patch between my eyes that still flares red when i cry or if i'm sick, but that's all that's left.
you're right, a true PWS is more rare. i'd wait until you're absolutely sure it's not going to fade on its own before putting her through the treatment. i'll bet you don't need to.
khairete
S.
A., my DD was born with a PWS that covers her left cheek - temple to nose. We waited until she was in pre-school to have it treated - we then went thru 6 laser surgerys and it did not remove the stain as hers was really deep. I too was told that it would disappear as she got older but since hers was so deep it didn't. Also we were told that the laser surgerys were not a permanent fix. Over time it would return and she would have to have additional treatements. She is now 14 yrs old and though she has had "some" teasing and looks, she has decided to no longer go thru the treatments to remove it - as she has stated "it is part of me, I will miss it". It is a very personal decision. If you are in the Dallas area - I can recommend the doctor that we used - he is very good and is recognized in the medical world as one of the best in Laser surgeries. Also, there are several websites for families with children that have PWS. My daughter has the type of personality that she was able to overcome any issues that came with having a visible birthmark and is very comfortable with herself and the PWS. The only thing I can tell you is to treat it as if nothing was wrong - I think the way we approached it with her helped her come to terms with it and accept it. If you need to talk to someone - please contact me thru this site via emai. But again - as I stated - this is something that is very personal and you will need to make the decision that you feel is best for your daughter and your family. Make sure you do your research on all the options available to you. I wish you all the best.
Wait it out. Our oldest had an angel kiss right between his brows. It was pretty red at birth, and lightened up in the months. Up until he turned two, it would reddened up when he was crying or hot, but now, it completely gone. He is 2y,9m...
Angel kisses - if I'm thinking of the right one, will typically get larger before they go away. It's a collection of blood vessels right under the surface of the skin. My daughter has one above her right temple. People think it's a boo-boo. It's definitely smaller than it was, but it's still pretty noticable - and she's 20 months. She also had some smaller ones at her hairline at the back of her neck, but I haven't noticed those, lately. Either her hair is obscuring them or they've gone away.
About 50% go away by age two. About 75% are gone by age four. Almost all the rest should be gone by 7-8, though some linger and typically are removed (though they will eventually go away - it just starts to interfere with self-esteem and whatnot if it's on the face).
My son w born with a similar type mark on his forehead, in somewhat of a v shape; I didn't think much of it because our pediatrician said it would eventually fade and by the time he's around 4 years of age will probably be gone. My son is now 6 and it is still somewhat visible and, like your daughter, when he gets mad or upset it shows up more. After reading your entry, I'm now wondering about my son's mark and if I should be worried it might not ever fade.
my nephew had one that sounds a lot like your daughters his went away closer to one, it started to fade but going back to look at pictures i can see it. It would get redder when he was upset. My son had one on the back of his neck which totally went away. Does it change in any way? lighter to darker vice versa? If it does I would think AK just give it some time if not then you can make the decision to do what you want.
I'm 46 years old and have an angel kiss on my cheek. It still shows when I get really overheated or angry, but it is so light only I notice it. I can remember from my childhood it was much darker, but again it only showed up if I got angry. My mom told me it was much darker when I was a baby. I'd definitely just wait it out. I think Debbie F is right on the money - let her decide if it's an issue for her when she's older. btw Debbie, kudos to you and your daughter for her being happy in her own skin!
My girlfriend's son had an angel kiss right between his eyes and it is almost gone. He is 13 months. Your daughter is still pretty young.
I have a port wine birthmark on my back.
I would say to wait until your daughter is a bit older (4/5) before even thinking about what to do. She is pretty young and it could fade and go away with time if it's the angel kiss. Also, just out of curiosity, why do you want to get rid of it? Sounds pretty small.
L.
