As soon as Luke was born, we saw that he has a pretty large growth on the left side of his head. The doctor and nurses who delivered him were all unsure of what it was. That's a great feeling, let me tell you. I was definitely worried about it. They told us to wait and see what the pediatrician thought, when she made her rounds in a few hours.
So the pediatrician looked him over and she said that she thinks it is probably a hemangioma, but she wanted to rule out other possibilities, so she ordered an MRI. Luke did really well during the MRI, which surprised me because it was really, really loud in there. They put some ear plugs in his ears though, so I guess that helped.
After the MRI, I was bummed to find out that he would have to stay in the NICU on IV fluids in order to help flush out the dye from his system. (They used a dye to see contrast on his MRI.) Being in the NICU is rough. It's just a stressful feeling. Luckily, I didn't have a complete meltdown like I did when Kate was in the NICU for 5 days after she was born. But it was still just sad to have him on an IV. Nate and I took turns staying with him. It was tiring.
Luckily, we got good news from the MRI. They told us that the growth is just under the surface of his skin, and so it isn't connected to his brain or anything. Based on the MRI, they think it is more likely to be a Venolymphatic Malformation. But it could also be a hemangioma. They are quite similar. We were referred to a dermatologist who will be able to give us an official diagnosis.
The good news is that both of those possible diagnoses are not super serious. They look much worse than they actually are. From what I've read, you basically just have to wait for it to eventually shrink on it's own. There are some possible treatments available, but some seem a little scary. I'm very curious to find out more from our dermatology appointment. I will keep you posted.
In the meantime, we're just going to snuggle our sweet little Luke and adore him.
Newborns are the sweetest little things.
1 comment:
I'm glad that they were able to at least partially determine what it was. It doesn't sound that serious, so that's a relief! I didn't remember Kate being in the NICU for 5 days! I bet it's hard to see your new baby all hooked up like that. I'm glad he's okay and you're both home!
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