Port Wine Stain Birthmark

Hi! Has anyone here had any experience with a Port Wine Stain birthmark?? Our DD has one under her nose & the paed said it should fade with time...we did a search on Google and it sounds horrible...so I'm wondering if anyone here has had a child with a PWS and if so, what happened with it???

My eldest DD had a big raised one on her big toe, and another smaller one above her right breast, and our paed told us they would fade in time and they did, with no troubles at all. Some will continue to grow for a while as the child grows, but then they will get smaller and dissappear. It wasn't till she was nearly 1 that they were completely gone though. Unless they continue to grow and cause a problem with breathing/feeding etc, it should be fine, albeit a little unsightly.

This is one time that Google isn't your friend. Large port wine stains (over a significant area) can be an indication of various nasty conditions, and this is probably why google has scared you. But a small birth mark as you have described is a totally different thing. If your paed isn't worried, than you shouldn't be either. If it was a concern then he would have told you.

DD has a haemagioma (sp) its a red rasied birthmark on her left arm, it started off a small brown mark then turned red, its a little smaller than a 20c peice, and yes its faded heaps over the past two years!! they can be lasered off too!

I have 1 on my jaw bone. I hasn't faded over time like my mother was told when I was young and it hasn't spread either. I've always been concious of it.

Thanks for the replies so far! :)

DD's port wine stain is about the size of a 5-10 cent piece and isn't raised at all. We were told we could get it lazered when she's older (7 or 8) too... Hopefully it will fade a fair bit in the next year though. :)

My niece has one on her foot. It hasn't faded -she is now 19.
Both my children have stork bite marks and they seem to have faded a bit. They really only become bright red when they cry.
I don't know the difference between a stork bite and the Port Wine birth mark though.

Thanks krisp...I'm not sure of the difference either??

I had one when I was little, was not raised and probably the size of a 20 cent coinlocated just on top of my bottom. Its faded heaps. Can heardly see it at all now. I guess I was never too concerned about it as it was always covered and I never saw it unless I was looking int he mirror from behind and had no clothes on.
Isn't stork bite just another name for a PW birthmark?

It's odd, from your description of its location and that the doc said it will fade that sounds more like 'stork marks', which are usually around the nape of the neck, mouth, eyelids and nose, and fade with time. I assume it's reddish/pinkish??
Port Wine Stains as I understand it are darker/reddish/purplish and are usually permanent.

AliBaby - wow, that's great to hear! There is hope then. :) I thought a stork bite & PW stain were different but I really don't know much about either.

Shades - I'm not sure, I'm just going by what the paediatrician said. It is kind of dark red with a tinge of purple I guess, more obvious when she's upset. I would be happy if it is only a stork mark though from the little I've found on both, it sounds much less of a problem.

I had a port wine birthmark on my chest, in between my two breasts! It was a perfectly round bright red mark. It has faded with time. Only when I look REALLY CLOSELY can I still see it but it is hardly noticeable.

Thanks queenbee! It's always nice to hear a positive story. :)

Has anyone had lazer surgery done on a birthmark? How effective was it?

Our paediatrician advised us to see a skin specialist for our DD later this year to get advice...he also said it's usually fairly effective as far as he's aware.

Any others? :)

i think DD2 has a port wine stain on the side of her nose :( DD1 has a haemagioma and now this. i would be worried except its on her face, its reddish/purplish

My DS had a very large haemagioma on top of his head. It started like a small scratched and grew rapidly to the size of two 50c pcs and raised with fatty tissue under it about 5cm raised off the scalp. (It was huge!!)

I took him to many specialists who all told me that it would fade (it was a very dark red) over time. I was told that it couldn't be removed as it was listed as "cosmetic" procedure and no doctor would put a child under a general for removal unless it was life threatening. I was very concerned because of the size and he would get many comments about it (ppl can be very rude!). Although I am happy to say that he is now almost 7 and it has practially completely gone. It started to dimish from the age of 4. His hair has grown through it and the fatty raised tissue under it has also gone. It is just slightly silverish looking but you can hardly tell.

Is silverish a word?? LOL

One of my friends was born with a pw mark on her leg and had successful laser removal, although she had it done as an adult.

If you are interested I can email you some pics to compare.
melissaandmario@hotmail.com

My sisters boyfriend had port wine stain over most of the lower part of his face and neck. He had it lasered off when he was a kid and only has a few little spots left on his chin which he hides with facial hair.

Thanks girls...interesting to hear other peoples experiences with PWS's...