A one-year girl who had a tumor made up of blood vessels that kept getting ‘larger and larger’ has had the noncancerous growth removed from her forehead during a three-hour surgery.
Ashley McKnight, from Oro-Medonte, Ontario, shared her daughter Chloe’s story with Good Morning America, saying the toddler was born 15 months ago with what looked like a small scratch on her head.
The newborn wasn’t even two months old when she was diagnosed with a hemangioma, a benign tumor made up of blood vessels that gather under the skin. While they usually go away on their own, Chloe’s kept growing.
‘It didn’t look like it was reserving at all and it just gradually got larger and larger,’ McKnight told the outlet. ‘At first it was just really flat and red, and then it started to grow in height.’
One-year-old Chloe McKnight had a tumor made up of blood vessels removed from her forehead during a three-hour surgery
Chloe’s mom, Ashley McKnight, told Good Morning America the toddler was born 15 months ago with what looked like a small scratch on her head
The mother of three explained she had to take an extended maternity leave to watch over Chloe as a safety precaution.
‘It’s basically a tumor of blood vessels that would bleed if she were to bump it,’ she said. ‘Always that was in the back of our minds, just making sure that she never hit it or anything.’
McKnight, who has two sons ages three and five, said their family treated Chloe’s tumor as if it were just a part of her, but the little girl would get attention for the tumor whenever they left their house.
When Chloe got older, she and her husband started researching surgeons who could remove the growing tumor with minimal scarring.
She diagnosed with a hemangioma, a benign tumor made up of blood vessels that gather under the skin. While hemangiomas usually go away on their own, Chloe’s kept growing
McKnight traveled to New York City with Chloe in January to have the tumor removed by Dr. Gregory Levitin, who said the growth was ‘unusually large’
They learned of Dr. Gregory Levitin, director of vascular birthmarks and malformations at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in New York City, through a Facebook group for parents of children with hemangiomas.
In January, McKnight traveled to New York City with Chloe for her surgery.
Dr. Levitin explained to GMA that Chloe’s tumor was ‘unusually large’ and more difficult to remove because it was located on her forehead, where there isn’t ‘a lot of extra tissue to borrow from.’
‘[The tumor] dropped and touched the muscle of the forehead, so preserving the muscle and allowing her to have facial expressions was important,’ he said.
‘We wanted the shortest scar possible and so finding ways to manipulate the tissue to get the shortest scar possible was equally important,’ Dr. Levitin told GMA
The surgery was a success, and Chloe has become even more active as she continues to recover
‘We wanted the shortest scar possible and so finding ways to manipulate the tissue to get the shortest scar possible was equally important.’
The three-hour surgery was a success, and Chloe has become even more active as she continues to recover.
Dr. Levitin explained that it’s common for children to have more energy after having hemangiomas removed because the tumors ‘process a lot of the blood and nutrients’ in the body.
McKnight shared that her daughter actually had a harder time with teething pain than her surgery, saying it made her ‘realize how resilient children are.’
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