Jaw-dropping human birthmarks

Ms. Qian recently encountered something that made her embarrassed and worried. She has a natural mole on her left cheek, which has been with her for more than 30 years. Because it is not on the front of her face, she usually doesn't pay much attention to it. A few days ago, the mole suddenly broke. Ms. Qian searched on the Internet and found many posts saying that this might be a sign of some kind of disease. The terrified Ms. Qian rushed to the hospital for a pathological test, but no lesions were found. However, the doctor told her that the sudden rupture of this mole might indeed be a sign of certain lesions.

Ms. Qian was very scared, so she came to us hoping to remove the mole with cosmetic surgery. She also requested to remove a birthmark on her belly that was slightly larger than the mole. We have ways to remove some birthmarks, but not all birthmarks can be removed, and some birthmarks do not need to be removed. Based on Ms. Qian’s experience, let me briefly introduce birthmarks. It may not be easy to find out about birthmarks in our daily lives. Compared with some large birthmarks, there is really no need to worry too much about a small birthmark like Ms. Qian's, because some birthmarks are really jaw-dropping.

A birthmark is an abnormal growth of skin tissue during development, which causes abnormal shapes and colors to appear on the skin surface. Birthmarks may be found at birth or may only appear slowly after a few months of birth. Birthmarks can generally be divided into pigmented and vascular types. Common pigmented types include Ota's nevus, congenital melanocytic nevus, cafe au lait spots, etc., while vascular types include port-wine stains, strawberry hemangiomas, etc.

The incidence of birthmarks

The incidence of birthmarks in newborns is about 10%, which can be said to be very common. Most birthmarks only affect the appearance and do not require special treatment. However, some birthmarks may be accompanied by abnormalities of body organs and may even have the possibility of malignant changes, so they must be treated actively. For example, some cavernous hemangiomas proliferate too quickly and can cause limb deformities, which are not only unsightly in appearance but can also cause functional impairments. Even when the hemangioma expands too quickly, it can cause tissue necrosis, excessive consumption of platelets and low coagulation function, leading to continuous bleeding. Some hairy animal-like moles may develop into malignant melanoma in the future, leading to death after the metastasis of cancer cells.

Salmon red spot

About 1/3 of newborns will have this birthmark. It is a small, reddish patch that usually lies flat on the skin. They often appear on the back of the neck, between the eyes, on the forehead and on the eyelids. Most of them will gradually disappear as the child grows.

Port wine stains

Port-wine stains, also known as port-wine stains, are common on the head, face and neck. They appear as dark red irregular spots that do not protrude above the skin and easily fade under pressure. They can increase in size as the body grows and most of them exist for life. They can be treated with medication and light therapy and generally do not cause harm to the body.

Mongolian Spot

Mongolian spots are the most common birthmark in newborns. They are congenital and are particularly common among the yellow race. It often appears on the baby's waist, buttocks and back, appearing as light gray-green or dark blue patches. Most of them occur as single patches, are round or oval in shape, and have unclear boundaries. Mongolian spots are caused by some melanocytes remaining in the dermis during embryonic development and delaying their disappearance.

Café au lait spots

Except for the palms and soles of the feet, this birthmark can appear on any part of the body. Most of them occur in infants under five years old, with a probability of about 1%. If only a few café au lait spots appear, there are generally no adverse effects. However, if more than six appear and the diameter of each spot is greater than 1.5 cm, the chance of developing neurofibromatosis increases significantly. Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disease that affects both the skin and the nervous system and may affect the baby's intellectual development.

Strawberry hemangioma

Capillary hemangioma, also known as strawberry hemangioma, appears at birth or in the neonatal period and is prone to occur on the head, face, and neck. It grows rapidly 2 to 6 months after birth, forming soft, strawberry-shaped lumps that are raised above the skin surface. Although they will not disappear, they have no effect on health.

Cavernous hemangioma

It's like a light blue spongy tissue filled with blood. They usually appear under the skin of the head or neck. If they grow deeper, the overlying skin will look normal and they will disappear before puberty.

Venous malformations

The dilation of the veins caused by venous malformations may not be very obvious at birth, but it will become more and more obvious as the child ages. Between 1% and 4% of infants develop venous malformations. They are often found on the chin, cheeks, tongue and lips and can be treated with sclerosing agents or surgery.

Congenital pigmented nevus

Congenital moles and hairy moles are black moles that exist when the baby is born. They vary in size, and the large ones can invade the entire back, neck or entire limbs. The small ones are usually in the range of 0.6 to 2 cm in diameter, and are mostly dark in color with coarse black hairs. This type of mole will grow larger as the baby grows and has a certain tendency to become malignant.