Welcome to the India Chapter of the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation,
VBF India!
Every year in the United States, 40,000 children are born with a vascular
birthmark, 85% of which are in the head and neck area. Statistics show
us that the incidence is the same in other countries. These birthmarks
include:
No one knows why vascular birthmarks occur, but treatment guidelines
are changing.
Join
the VBF 2008 Day of Awareness Campaign
Tell Your Story
Help us Raise Needed Funds
Buddy Booby says, “Come in and see what’s new”.
Welcome to VBF 2008 International Day of Awareness: http://birthmark.org/awareness/
Look what’s new, VBF 2008 International Day of Awareness! We are
excited to launch our international campaign for awareness on May 15.
It’s the same day with a new look. Explore the new website and
join in the fun.
This grassroots campaign serves to educate the public about vascular
birthmarks and their related syndromes, and raise funds to support the
work of the VBF.
VBF International Day of Awareness officially takes place annually on
May 15, and is celebrated by hundreds of friends from around the world;
however, many events are conducted throughout the year.
Participants can have fun while working to help those affected by birthmarks.
Some past events include lemonade stands, garage sales, jeans day at
work, a birthday party fundraiser, awareness bracelets and VBF We Care
Bears sales, bake sales, sponsored marathons, Buddy Booby book read-along,
a penny drive – the possibilities are endless.
There is something for everyone, especially you!
So please make your plans to participate in this event. Once you have
registered your event, VBF will provide you with supportive materials
and offer any assistance we can to make this campaign enjoyable and
successful.
If you are interested in participating, visit the VBF International
Day of Awareness website, or write to Paige Salvador at BASPASTS@cs.com.
Save the Date
2008 VBF International Conference and Masquerade
The VBF International Conference will be held in New York City on
Saturday, November 15, 2008. Highlighting the conference are the top
physicians in the world on vascular birthmarks and the related syndromes.
Prior to the conference, on Friday, November 14, 2008, VBF is hosting
a Masquerade and Auction to benefit the work of VBF. This event will
include live entertainment from guest celebrities, as well as one-of-a-kind
and collectible auction items.
Information concerning registration and itineraries for these events
will be posted soon, so please check back for all the exciting details.
VBF Names Dr. Alejandro Berenstein Physician of the
Year
Alejandro
Berenstein, M.D., was named this year’s recipient of the VBF Physician
of the Year award for his outstanding and innovative techniques in treating
massive, complicated, and often life-threatening vascular malformations
and hemangiomas.
Dr. Berenstein is the Director of Beth Israel’s Hyman-Newman
Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN) at Roosevelt Hospital
in New York City, a state-of-the art facility for the diagnosis and
treatment of neurological diseases and complicated vascular malformations
and hemangiomas. He is a pioneer in the field of Interventional Neuroradiology,
a specialty that utilizes minimally invasive procedures to treat conditions
related to the vascular system of the brain, head, face, spine, and
spinal cord.
Read More about Dr. Berenstein
Port Wine Stains: Clearance, Cure, and Recurrence
To Treat or Not to Treat
The following rebuttal by Dr. Stuart Nelson and Dr. Roy Geronemus was
published in the New England Journal of Medicine in response to an article
about the recurrence of Port Wine Stains (PWS) after pulsed dye laser
treatment. At this year’s conference in Irvine, several physicians
spoke about the pathology, progression and treatment of PWS. To summarize
what was presented, after a PWS is treated using the pulsed dye laser,
the vessels that are targeted by the laser will not necessarily come
back, but rather new, deeper vessels will work their way up to the top
of the skin thus making “some” stain appear. It is important
to understand this because many people believe that PWS will always
come back and, therefore, they should not have laser treatment. This
is not true. While the laser does not “cure” the PWS, it
offers the most hope for clearance, for keeping the skin from thickening
and cobbling and for maintaining the best aesthetic outcome for the
patient (comment by Linda Rozell-Shannon, President and Founder of the
Vascular Birthmarks Foundation, 11/8/07).
Comments from Dr. Stuart Nelson and Dr. Roy Geronemus:
"We reviewed “Redarkening of Port-Wine Stains 10 Years after
Pulsed-Dye-Laser Treatment” by Huikeshoven et al (NEJM 2007;356:1235-1240)
with great interest and would offer our comments.
Read more here
Volunteer for VBF India
VBF India needs a medical director for answering medical questions
from
patients.
Medical Directors should know how to diagnose and treat vascular
birthmarks or at least refer the patient to a physician who can.
Medical Directors will be listed on the website with a photo and bio
and we
will need an email address for sending all emails.
VBF India President Kalpana
Welcome
to VBF India. I am Kalpana, born and brought up in Delhi, India. I was
a patient of a vascular malformation - Hemangioma and for a long time
of my life, I had to live with that deformity. It affected the whole
right side of my face including my eye, ear, nose, and neck. Being a
girl and growing up in India, it became a sort of stigma for me. I didn't
know that I deserved a better life. But, at the age of 25, I found the
treatment and went through a very difficult but very memorable and beautiful
phase of my life, undergoing several laser and reconstructive surgeries
in the USA by some very highly specialized doctors like Dr. Waner, Dr.
Shewmake, and Dr. David Wilkes. It brought a total turnaround in my
life and in the lives of people related to me. God did a miracle in
my life and now I have asked Him to use me for his purpose.
This website and my life is dedicated to all those people who helped
me and supported me during that phase and to all those people whose
lives will be changed for better through VBF India under leadership
of Linda Shanon, executive director, from who I have learned lessons
in faith, courage and hope.
Yours Sincerely,
Kalpana
President
VBF India
Read Kalpana's story here
