LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Hi Dr. Lam. My daughter was born with a hamartoma under her right eye which is causing a skin fold (hopefully, the pic attachment will go through). She is seeing two prominent pediatric dermatologists. Both say we should wait until she's older to take any action, but they believe ultimately, she will need to see a plastic surgeon to remove it. It is benign, and growing at the same rate as the rest of her face, so surgery would be purely cosmetic. I know nothing about plastic surgery, but it seems like it would be a tricky surgery to do. What are your thoughts on how a surgery like this might be performed...where would a cut be made? Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide! This forum is such a wonderful public service!

I would only perform the procedure when a pediatric surgeon believes it safe. based on the photograph, most likely what I would do is do a geometric broken line repair over the crease itself to make it look more difficult to see. That is a type of scar revision. Through that incision I would most likely trim the excess contour that I see on both sides to try to make that area look flatter.