Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Treatment for Baby Z's Birthmark

Can't even tell he just got zapped, huh? He went back to sleep
almost as soon as he was back in his stroller.
We had a great appointment today with Dr. Milton Waner of the Vascular Birthmark Institute to determine how to treat the hemangioma on Baby Z's eyelid.

He recommended laser therapy and offered to do the first treatment then and there. I hope this option is able to completely remove it since it seemed to cause Baby Z less pain than his last round of immunizations.

I am so grateful to live in the city where VBI is run. Dr. Waner is famous for helping kids with birthmarks, though many are much more severe than Baby Z's. You can see several before and after pictures on the VBI website. He was kind, patient and explained thoroughly, all with a great South African accent!

One of the patients I waited with in the lobby was having a major lip deformation treated, though I could not tell because it had been removed so cleanly. For years doctors said his birthmark could not be treated without severe scarring, and it wasn't until he was in college that his family found Dr. Waner, who was willing and able to treat it.

His story, and those of the other patients I waited with who had come from all over the United States for treatment, is my motivation for posting about our visit. If you know someone who has a vascular birthmark they need or want to get rid of, let them know about Dr. Waner and VBI.