Many babies are born with small blemishes—a little patch of redness here, a birthmark there. These typically aren’t cause for concern, and most go away on their own. But what if they don’t?
When Casey Lang was born, she had two small marks on her body: one on her left cheek, and one on her abdomen. “As the doctors were coming in to check on her, we kept asking if it was normal. They said it was a stork bite and that it would go away,” mom Michelle says. “A couple of weeks went by and it started to get darker and larger. I kept telling my husband, this is not right.”
By the time Casey was two months old, the blemish on her face had become blotchy and was encroaching on her eye, and the growth on her abdomen had grown to the size of a lime. Her parents were getting increasingly concerned.
Getting Answers
Michelle took Casey to her pediatrician, who referred her to CHOC plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Jaffurs. Immediately upon seeing Casey, Dr. Jaffurs diagnosed the marks as infantile hemangiomas and consulted with the rest of the team from the CHOC Vascular Anomalies Center. They recommended that Casey be admitted to the hospital that day for comprehensive testing, to determine the severity of the hemangiomas.
“They started her on propranolol in the hospital and the journey started from there,” Michelle says. “It was a year on the medication, and we came to CHOC every single month. The medication was remarkable. It brought down the hemangioma on her face and opened up her eye.”
The growth on Casey’s stomach did not respond as well to the medication and was surgically removed by Dr. Jaffurs. What remained of the hemangioma on Casey’s face, however, could be treated with a simple procedure that had just become available at CHOC.
No Surgery, No Scar
CHOC’s new pulsed dye laser (PDL) is a minimally invasive treatment for hemangiomas, port-wine stains and post-surgical scarring anywhere on the body. The laser delivers very quick pulses of energy at a specific wavelength that is absorbed into the skin, destroying the abnormal blood vessels just below the surface. CHOC uses the latest PDL model—the Vbeam Perfecta— because of its level of precision, which is especially important when lasering sensitive areas like near the eye.
“With this new laser, we sometimes can avoid an operation which leaves a lasting scar,” Dr. Jaffurs says. “And, you can see the results immediately.”
CHOC’s pediatrics-trained anesthesiologists give patients a small amount of anesthesia using a mask, to relax them and minimize movement during the procedure. Patients are sent home the same day; side effects are very minimal and may include slight pain or bruising. The number of treatments needed depends on the location and size of the vascular anomaly.
Casey was one of the first patients at CHOC to be treated with the pulsed dye laser and after just two treatments, the hemangioma on her face is nearly gone. Most patients require three to five treatments depending on the severity of the malformation.
“I want other parents to know that if their child has this, there is a cure for them,” Michelle says. “The team they have at CHOC, it’s just amazing, and if you go there, you’re going to get answers.”
The CHOC Vascular Anomalies Center brings together pediatric specialists in hematology, plastic surgery, head and neck surgery (ENT), cardiology and more to assess and treat all forms of vascular anomalies and malformations in children. For more information, call 714-509-3313.
CHOC’s new pulsed dye laser is generously supported by the Nora and Charles Hester Endowment for Craniofacial Care.
