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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
I asked several nurses in the hospital and also our brand new
pediatrician about a soft squishy area on my newbord daughter's head. They all assured me that it is a Cephalohematoma and nothing to worry about. I asked again at the 5 day checkup at the pediatrican's office and again 'it will go away'. She is 11 days old now and the puffy area seems to have gotten larger.(or maybe I'm just obsessing over it making it look larger to me??) I don't know if i'm worrying over nothing or if I need to take her to the hospital to get checked out before next week's pediatrician appointment in 5 days. Anybody have any experience with these? The puffyest part is just off to the right of the crown of the head(towards the top/back) and circumference about the size of a silver dollar. |
#2
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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
concerned wrote: They all assured me that it is a Cephalohematoma and nothing to worry about. Welcome to parenthood. Worrying is normal, especially since you don't yet know where to go for good information. One source I like is the US National Library of Medicine, their search page for the general public provides links to high quality information. Such as: http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnan...ariations.html A cephalohematoma is a collection of blood that has seeped under the outer covering membrane of one of the skull bones. This is usually caused during birth by the pressure of the head against the mother's pelvic bones. The lump is confined to one side of the top of the baby's head and, in contrast to caput succedaneum, may take a week or two to disappear. The breakdown of the blood collected in a cephalohematoma may cause these infants to become somewhat more jaundiced than others during the first week of life. It's important to remember that both caput succedaneum and cephalohematoma occur due to trauma outside of the skull - neither indicates that there has been any injury to the infant's brain. |
#3
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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
Concerned,
Below is text that I found Googling Cephalohematoma. Basically, it's a bruise under the dura matter of the scalp. The important things to know from the article are the following -- "Obviously, there is no treatment necessary or ever warranted for an uncomplicated cephalohematoma. By no means should they ever be drained or needled, because of the risk of introducing infection into the space." I'd also take into serious consideration, during this or any childhood illness, accident, or worry, how your doctors are acting about the issue and what they say. I've learned from personal experience that if doctors think that you or your child is in serious danger, you'll know because they will be booking you into the hospital, or telling you to come back as soon as possible for more testing. If a doctor says, "oh, that's just a blah blah blah, and it's nothing to worry about, and will go away on it's own" that pretty much means that it's nothing to worry about and it will go away on it's own. Especially if you've now asked more than twice about it, and were told the same thing by multiple people. http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/cephalohematoma.html Cephalohematoma There is a very tough tissue covering that encapsulates bones, called the dura mater (DOO-rah MATE-er). It adheres tenaciously to the outer and inner surfaces of all the bones of the body, including the skull. If you have ever boiled a soup bone long enough, you have probably noticed this covering. A cephalohematoma is a collection of blood under the dura mater. It is almost always a complication of childbirth. It most commonly occurs when the fetal head is forced through the birth canal; the head is propelled forward while the cervix grips the scalp tenaciously. This sliding, tearing force can tear tiny veins that nourish the dura mater from the bone side. This tearing of vessles causes bleeding (hemorrhage) under the tough covering of each bony plate (the "periosteum"), and a tense pocket of blood collects. This is apparently a painless process. The result is a squishy swelling with distinct borders that feels just as if there were a tiny water-filled balloon under the scalp. It is differentiated from caput succedaneum in that the caput is a more generalised and very temporary swelling of the scalp and disappears in a day or two, but the cephalohematoma becomes more distinct to see and feel over the first few days of life. Cephalohematomas are more common with forceps delivery, and can indicate the presence of a skull fracture. An underlying skull fracture is especially suspected if the cephalohematoma crosses suture lines in the skull. The course of a newborn's uncomplicated cephalohematoma is benign. The trapped blood cells break down and the component parts are reabsorbed into the system for recycling or disposal. The heme becomes bilirubin, the iron is recycled into new red blood cells. Calcium is deposited in the resolving cephalohematoma, especially around the edge where the dura mater has been lifted up. As the swelling begins to resolve, you will feel a distinct hard ridge around the edge of the swelling, with a soft, balloon-like center. Eventually, the entire remaining mass of the cephalohematoma becomes hard and calcified, and then it too is reabsorbed and disappears. Within a few months there will be no physical or xray detectable trace of the swelling. Obviously, there is no treatment necessary or ever warranted for an uncomplicated cephalohematoma. By no means should they ever be drained or needled, because of the risk of introducing infection into the space. The only problems I have ever seen related remotely to or confused with a cephalohematoma were related to underlying skull fracture. Such problems are extraordinarily rare. See leptomeningeal cyst. -- Jamie Earth Angels: Taylor Marlys -- 01/03/03 Addison Grace -- 09/30/04 Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1, Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and Password |
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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
Jamie Clark wrote:
http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/cephalohematoma.html Cephalohematoma There is a very tough tissue covering that encapsulates bones, called the dura mater (DOO-rah MATE-er). It adheres tenaciously to the outer and inner surfaces of all the bones of the body, including the skull. If you have ever boiled a soup bone long enough, you have probably noticed this covering. A cephalohematoma is a collection of blood under the dura mater. Huh - I thought drhull was normally a fairly good site? Poking around further, it looks like I'm muddling it up with another site. The dura mater is the outer layer of the meninges; it lies around the brain and spinal cord and inside the skull/vertebral column. The bone lining he is referring to is called the periosteum. A cephalhaematoma, being by definition on the outside of the skull, is most definitely not to be confused with a subdural or epidural haematoma! The diagram here makes the anatomy clear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalhematoma Lara |
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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
concerned wrote: I asked several nurses in the hospital and also our brand new pediatrician about a soft squishy area on my newbord daughter's head. They all assured me that it is a Cephalohematoma and nothing to worry about. I asked again at the 5 day checkup at the pediatrican's office and again 'it will go away'. She is 11 days old now and the puffy area seems to have gotten larger.(or maybe I'm just obsessing over it making it look larger to me??) I don't know if i'm worrying over nothing or if I need to take her to the hospital to get checked out before next week's pediatrician appointment in 5 days. Anybody have any experience with these? The puffyest part is just off to the right of the crown of the head(towards the top/back) and circumference about the size of a silver dollar. My ds had one of these. It took a good few weeks to disappear. He developed jaundice day 2 but it was pretty much cleared by 2 weeks with lots of bf'ing and sunlight. No problems with it whatsoever, was just careful not to hold that part of his head because it was tender. Somedays it looked larger than others. HTH Jeni |
#6
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Cephalohematoma, is this something to worry about?
concerned wrote in
7.131: I asked several nurses in the hospital and also our brand new pediatrician about a soft squishy area on my newbord daughter's head. They all assured me that it is a Cephalohematoma and nothing to worry about. I asked again at the 5 day checkup at the pediatrican's office and again 'it will go away'. She is 11 days old now and the puffy area seems to have gotten larger.(or maybe I'm just obsessing over it making it look larger to me??) I don't know if i'm worrying over nothing or if I need to take her to the hospital to get checked out before next week's pediatrician appointment in 5 days. Anybody have any experience with these? The puffyest part is just off to the right of the crown of the head(towards the top/back) and circumference about the size of a silver dollar. Thanks to everyone for the replies, you've given me more info than I could find on the web. Mostly I found VERY techical articles that didn't describe in laymans terms how it would look/feel etc. Guess i'll have to find something else to worry about, no shortage of those. 12th day, newbie parent |
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