An Update on Iris

We had our 1st appointment in Boston at the Children's Hospital. We were able to get in a few weeks earlier than the original July 2nd appointment. Last Friday we met with Dr. Arin Greene, who is a pediatric plastic surgeon and the go-to guy for hemangiomas at the Children's Hospital.
What a relief it was to talk to someone who knew what he was talking about. He met with us for about a half an hour, answering all of our questions, not rushing us along at all. As I mentioned previously, all of the options for treating a hemangioma are less than desirable on such a small child. But, as it would turn out, we do not need to treat it at all right now. This was wonderful news. We do not have to pump our baby full of risky medications or have surgery while she is so young.

Dr. Greene told us that the growth period of the hemangioma has finished. Now, it starts to slowly recede. He did say, because of its size, that it will leave some fatty tissue and a knot behind when it does recede, which he expects to happen by age three. Also, it is pushing her earlobe forward and that will eventually need to be corrected. So, eventually she will need surgery, but not until she is older. He believes we should have the surgery done when she is around three years old but before she is three and a half. At three and a half, long term memory begins to form as well as self esteem. Therefore, we want to time the surgery such that she is likely to have no long term memory of it and before her self esteem can be effected by the growth itself and the slight deformity in her ear. Both the fixing of the ear and the removal of the remainder of the hemagioma will be done at the same time.

In the meantime, we are just to apply Aquifer to the hemangioma several times a day to keep the skin smooth and prevent further ulceration, which is what caused the sore that is currently present. He also suggested that she wear a light cotton hat when she sleeps to prevent rubbing against the sheets. These are really easy enough recommendations to follow and much more palatable than the choices I thought we were facing. We see him again in 6 months, and then again when she turns two, at which time we will develop the further course of treatment.