Baby born with birthmark on his face is set to have laser treatment to shrink it

An eight-month-old boy was born with a deep purple birthmark spanning nearly half of his face – despite doctors saying it was just bruising from delivery.

Paula McLagan, 28, from Blairgowrie in Perthshire, gave birth to Rex Hindmarch, eight weeks prematurely.

After he was born via an emergency Caeserean section, doctors blamed the blemish on Rex’s face on using forceps to deliver him.

But a week later, he was diagnosed with a port-wine stain birthmark – which can be an indicator of a more serious condition called Sturge-Weber syndrome.

However, following an MRI scan at at six-months-old, he was given the all clear.

He now faces laser treatment in future to break up the tissue under his skin 

Rex Hindmarch, Blairgowrie in Perthshire, was born eight weeks prematurely via an emergency Caeserean section. Doctors blamed the blemish on using forceps to deliver him but a week later, he was diagnosed with a port-wine stain birthmark

Ms McLagan was deemed high-risk due to her type 1 diabetes, but had a normal and healthy pregnancy.

But at 27 weeks, she was admitted to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, with high blood pressure.

There, she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a condition that can affect women in the latter stages of pregnancy. 

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It can cause fits, which can be dangerous to both the mother and her unborn child.

On New Year’s Day, doctors said Ms McLagan was not improving and there was a risk her body would reject the baby.

It was decided she should undergo an emergency Caesarean section – but as Rex was stuck under her ribcage, doctors had to use forceps to deliver him.

Doctors said the birthmark may be an indicator of a more serious condition called Sturge-Weber syndrome. Mother Paula McLagan, 28, were told to look for symptoms such as seizures

Born at 31 weeks and five days on January 1, weighing 5lb 1oz, he was immediately rushed to intensive care, where he remained for three weeks.

Ms McLagan, a florist, said: ‘At the time, he had a big purple mark on his face, but nurses said it was bruising from the forceps and it will clear.

‘With him being so premature, he was a really pink – an alien-looking thing so, at first, it wasn’t very prominent.

‘After four or five days it hadn’t changed colour or gone away and we were told it was a birthmark.’ 

After diagnosing Rex with a port-wine stain, doctors broke the news that the presence of such a mark can also be an indicator of a more serious condition called Sturge-Weber syndrome. 

Even though the birthmark is superficial, it may thicken and develop a ‘cobblestone’ like appearance as he grows older, doctors warn

Rex will begin laser treatment after his first birthday to break up blood vessels under the skin. Doctors said he will need to continue the treatment until he starts school, taking a decade-long break when he’s five before resuming it as a teenager

It affects the brain, causes seizures and can lead to glaucoma, an eye disease that affects vision.

She added: ‘They told us to look out for symptoms for it like seizures.

‘There was a fear always hanging over us that he could have a seizure and how we’d be able to deal with it and how that would affect him.’

WHAT ARE PORT-WINE STAIN BIRTHMARKS?

Birthmarks are very common and come in many forms – around one in three babies a born with one.

They vary in size and colour, some fade over time while others are permanent.

Doctors do not know what causes some children to develop them, or how they get there.

They are not the result of something a mother does during her pregnancy, and there is no way to prevent them.

A port wine stain, or capillary malformation is a red or purple mark on the skin, present from birth.

They are caused by widened blood vessels, where blood flows slowly through the area all the time.

Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in the body and researchers believe these malformations occur while a child is still in the womb.

They are the most common vascular malformation, with around one in 330 babies born with a port wine stain.

They can occur anywhere in the body, but are more common on the face or neck.

Source: The Birthmark Support Group

Ms McLagan believed her two-decade struggle with type 1 diabetes, which she treats with daily doses of insulin, was the cause.

But eventually, nurses convinced her that it was not her fault. 

She said: ‘I blamed myself, because I thought I had done something in my pregnancy to cause his mark.

‘I felt really guilty, but once I spoke to the nurses I realised it was nothing to do with me.’  

But, at six-months-old, after an MRI scan on his brain at Ninewells Hospital, Rex was given the all clear.

However, Ms McLagan is worried that because he is still so young they may have missed something. 

Even though the birthmark is superficial, it may thicken and develop a ‘cobblestone’ like appearance as he grows older, doctors warn.

To combat this, he will begin laser treatment after his first birthday to break up blood vessels under the skin.

Doctors have said he will need to continue the treatment until he starts school, taking a decade-long break when he’s five before resuming it as a teenager.  

But Ms McLagan admitted she is worried for when Rex starts school and comes into contact with playground bullies.

She added: ‘As a mother I worried about his future and how people would look at him and treat him at school.

‘Strangers do stare, or ask about his face. One woman said he’d been in the sun for too long, but once I explained about his birthmark, I think she felt bad.

‘Rex is as bright as a button and a bundle of fun and I’m bringing him up to be confident and proud of how he looks.’ 

But Ms McLagan admitted her worry for when Rex starts school and comes into contact with playground bullies. But she said she is bringing him up to be confident about how he looks

But, at six-months-old, an MRI scan gave Rex the all clear. However, Ms McLagan is worried that because he is still so young doctors may have missed something