Laser Surgery Day

Today we went to see Dr. Hagstrom. She did the laser procedure and Henry screamed and hated it but now he is doing great and we can pick him up and he isn't crying.
The hemangioma still looks the same and the laser did not shrink it at all but it did seal it up so that it is not oozing and bleeding and therefore it doesn't hurt as much. The laser procedure took about 30 seconds and we had four people hold him down and Chris held goggles to his face. We all had to wear special glasses to protect our eyes as well. Henry wailed. But was brave- note the sticker on his shirt.

We given a topical antibiotic that we have to put on 3x a day and then on top of that we have special gauze that is infused with vaseline that goes on top of the hemangioma and then we put a large bandage over the whole thing and that stays on with tape. She also gave us rx ointment that will numb the skin if he is having a hard time.
Needless to say, Henry seems very comfortable now.

We go back in one week to follow up and she may laser again but we will see. She did say that hemangiomas of his kind seem to grow until baby is about 3.5 months old (which Henry is 3.5 months old) and then they begin to shrink down which can take up to 5 years at which point the skin may look saggy. Cosmetic surgery is an option if it is bad enough but I'm not really thinking that far down the road. I am just happy he isn't in pain again and I can pick him up without hurting him.

I did ask what are some causes to having these. She asked me a few questions and I had 3 'things' that often result in hemangiomas (this is not proven but most derms. agree) 1. Henry was premature. 2. I had preeclampsia 3. My placenta halfway detached depleting oxygen to capillaries causing them to bunch. Hopefully for future babies I can avoid all three. That's all for now, I will update again on Monday after visit 2.