I just found out today that one of my triplets has the same thing. She noticed a birth mark on his leg that showed up a couple of months ago and that one side is growing faster than the other. She was saying something about Hypertrophy. He has to have a hearing test tomorrow, a kidney and liver ultrasound on Monday and then has to see a genetic specialist. I’m so worried. I don’t want to go by what a friend of mine told me about her daughter but she tells me that everything is ok. She said that her daughter has to have an MRI every year to make sure that there aren’t any tumors (AHHH!!!), that her daughter has gone through three sets of tubes because she couldn’t hear and that you have to watch every mole, mark and spot. I do hope that someone on here has better explanations and advice. Sorry that this wasn’t the best offering.
Hemihypertrophy refers to the overgrowth (hypertrophy) of one side of the body. A person with will be found to have enlargement of the body on the affected side, so that the chest may be more full on the affected side as well as the arm and leg being longer and thicker in diameter.
Hemihypertrophy in infants and young children is important because such children have a much higher incidence of certain abdominal cancers, notably Wilm’s tumor of the kidney and hepatoblastoma (liver cancer). Unequal leg length cause some walking difficulties as well.
Children with require careful periodic followup examinations to detect any early sign of malignancy. This followup must continue for a number of years.
Hemihypertrophy can be a familial trait or may occur sporadically.
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