Pyogenic granuloma

You may have seen the red spot on Boronia's forehead in some of the previous photos, or maybe the big bandaids caught your eye. A tiny little lump developed into a bigger lump that would bleed profusely every time she bumped or scratched it. At first our GP diagnosed it as a haemangioma and suggested it would go away in time. When it started REALLY bleeding, we had it looked at by a specialist, who changed the diagnosis to a pyogenic granuloma (the body's over-reaction to a minor irritation), and said it would not get better and needed to be operated on. By this time we were also firmly convinced of this necessity, as it was very distressing for all involved, and potentially life threatening, as babies had been known to need blood transfusions if the bleeding could not be stopped...

So on a cold June morning, little more than a week after Boronia's first birthday, she and I set off for Westmead Children's Hospital.

The biggest worry was that she would need to undergo general anaesthetic, because although it was only a very minor procedure - electrocauterisation to remove the lump and seal up the blood vessels feeding it - there was no way she would hold still for that! This was well and truly proven when the nurse tried to draw a little circle around the lump and an arrow on her forehead with a texta!!! Boronia nearly ended up with the arrow pointing at her nose!!!

In true Boronia style, she was completely unfazed by the new surroundings or the long wait, checking out all the playthings and charming everyone in sight.

The operation literally took 2 minutes. She was back out of surgery before I had time to take a sip from the cup of tea I had bought! A bit groggy and upset on waking, but as soon as she was back in my arms and nursing, all was forgiven. The operation was a complete success. So glad that little phase of her life is over!