Hemangioma-  Description

*********Disclaimer********
This site is from a parents perspective.  All information
has been found through personal research or personal
experiences and is not intended for medical purposes.
  As always, one should seek the advice of a doctor or in this case,
a vascular anomalies specialist.
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A hemangiomas is a type of birthmark, it is the most common type of vascular birthmark..    It is not a cancerous type of tumor, it is a benign growth of endothelial cells, that line the blood vessels..  In hemangiomas these cells  multiply at an abnormally fast rate.

Definition:  Hemangiomas are abnormally dense collections of dilated small blood vessels (capillaries) that may occur in the skin or internal organs. "hemangio" meaning blood vessels & "oma" meaning tumor. 

 Alternative names I've seen hemangiomas referred by:  Strawberry nevus, cavernous hemangioma, compound hemangioma, angioma cavernosum, hemangioma simplex, capillary hemangioma, nevus flammeus (port wine stain) or flat hemangioma, strawberry mark, vascular tumor, vascular lesion, angiodysplasia.

Hemangiomas appear in the first month of life, 30% are visible at birth. (We noticed Danielle's  white blanched spots 2 days after birth).  They occur in 1 of every 10 infants and 60% develop on the head or neck.  They are 3 times more common among girls and occur predominatently in caucasians.  Babies weighing less that 2.2 lbs  at birth have a 26% chance of developing a hemangioma.  Many hemangiomas disappear spontaneously as a child gets older, but others may need treatment, which is why it is so important to seek a skilled specialist if in doubt.  Hemangiomas may also occur internally, in organs such as the liver, spleen or pancreas.