Should the birthmark be removed

  Birthmarks, medically known as “mother spots” or “moles”, are abnormal growths of skin tissue that appear on the surface of the skin as a result of abnormalities in shape and color during development. Birthmarks can be found at birth or may surface slowly after the first few months of life. Birthmarks can be divided into pigmented and vascular types. Common pigmented types such as nevus of Ota, congenital melanoma, coffee-milk spot, etc., while vascular types include wine-colored spots, strawberry hemangioma, etc.  Although birthmarks do not affect the child’s health, they can affect the appearance of the child and can be bothersome. The incidence of birthmarks in newborns is about 10%, and if the birthmark grows on the face and other obvious parts, it is easy for others to look at it differently, so that the patient starts to feel the psychological pressure in childhood and develops low self-esteem or autistic tendency in the process of growth, which may develop into personality problems in serious cases. Currently, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan have all enacted legislation to provide free insurance coverage to help school children remove facial birthmarks. Some birthmarks can be combined with abnormalities of body organs and even have the possibility of malignant changes, which must be treated actively.  Lasers can treat most birthmarks. First of all, a diagnosis should be given by a cosmetic dermatologist laser specialist to determine the type of birthmark and then choose a suitable treatment plan with different lasers in the specific case. In the case of red birthmarks, for example, a pulsed laser, which emits a green laser specifically designed to treat birthmarks, penetrates the lesion, coagulates the hemoglobin inside the blood vessels, closes them and eventually can completely restore the original color of the skin. In some patients with severe vasodilation, a few blood vessels will recanalize after treatment and may require multiple (2 or even more) treatments, often with an interval of more than 1 month between treatments. Laser treatment for birthmarks is the most effective method at present, but the treatment effect may vary depending on the specialist and the laser equipment, so experts suggest that patients go to regular hospitals for treatment. Most “birthmarks” can be treated well and cured with reasonable laser treatment, but a few need to be combined with other methods such as surgery.