Hemangioma of pregnancy?

Hi there

I am 32 weeks pregnant and have a large red growth on my forehead (approx 2cm across, dark red, raised, squishy to touch, will blanch slightly when pressed). Before I was pregnant I had a small red spot at the site, which I presume was a very small cherry angioma. It remained the same size for the first 4 or 5 months of pregnancy but over the past few months has grown rapidly and is now a large, unsightly and bleeds if I knock it hard. My GP hasn't seen one grow so quickly before which has me worried, but she openly explained that that doesn't mean anything as she isn't a specialist. I guess what I'm most worried about is nodular melanoma, but would I be right in thinking it would be firm to touch rather than squishy and also would have grown much sooner than this if it was that?

Many thanks

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like lobular capillary hemangioma. It is caused mainly due to hormonal influence and is usually found on the head and neck. Excision and cuatery may be needed to remove them. Please discuss these options with a dermatologist. Sclerotherapy, chemical cauterization with silver nitrate, ligation of the base and cryotherapy may also be used. But this is to be undertaken after delivery.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[ek777]

Many thanks for your response. I did look those up and it does look something like that. It's very raised so hard to conceal under my hair so i will definitely speak to a dermatologist about this. Is it quite common to have one grow so large quite quickly in pregnancy?

Many thanks again

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The cause of the typical pyogenic granuloma is not known.  It is postulated that hormonal changes in pregnancy are responsible for its rapid growth during pregnancy. Hope it helps. Take care and God bless.