SINGAPORE \u2013 \u201cThey are my birthmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was what 12-year-old Charlotte Lim told everyone and anyone who bothered to ask her about the spots on her skin, especially the large one that covered much of her body and extended down her legs.<\/p>\n
Charlotte was born with an enlarged birthmark that now covers about 30% of her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt extended from her diaphragm to her legs, and she has smaller spots on her body and face that have grown progressively larger,\u201d her mother Esther Zheng, 43, told The Straits Times.<\/p>\n
Zheng, a civil servant, said she was shocked when she first saw her daughter\u2019s extensive dark markings. \u201cShe also has over 100 smaller moles on her stomach, scalp, face, arms and legs.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Charlotte has is a rare, non-cancerous pigmented birthmark called a giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN), which can enlarge as a child grows.<\/p>\n
The condition affects about one in 100,000 newborns, said Mark Koh, who heads the department of dermatology at KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital (KKH).<\/p>\n
\u201cA congenital nevus (is a pigmented mole or birthmark) that occurs due to a mutation in the genes affecting pigment cells. It occurs while the embryo or foetus is growing in the mother\u2019s womb,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe size of the congenital nevus depends on how early the mutation occurs during the pregnancy, with earlier mutations causing larger lesions. The size and location of the lesion also vary.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that while GCMN is a genetic condition, it is not passed down from parent to child.<\/p>\n
Koh said some patients with GCMN may have moles in the brain and spine called neuro-melanosis, which can lead to neurological problems such as weakness or seizures.<\/p>\n
\u201cGCMN can also develop into melanoma, a type of skin cancer, which might also occur in the brain and spine if there is neuro-melanosis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hair can also grow directly from the main GCMN or from smaller, scattered satellite moles that frequently accompany a large birthmark.<\/p>\n The rare condition Charlotte Lim has is not inherited. She is seen here with mum Esther Zheng, brother Keefe Lim and dad Lim Wei Liang.<\/p>\n PHOTO: RARE SKIN CONDITIONS SOCIETY (SINGAPORE) AND DEBRA (DYSTROPHIC EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA RESEARCH ASSOCIATION)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Koh said there is no single medical cure that permanently and completely erases a GCMN, as \u201cit is a deep skin lesion that results from early embryonic genetic mutations\u201d. However, there are several approaches to manage the condition and reduce or remove some of the lesions.<\/p>\n Regular dermatological monitoring is essential because there is a 3% to 11% lifetime risk of GCMN developing into melanoma, as well as potential neurological conditions.<\/p>\n Other methods include surgery to completely remove the mole or laser therapy to lighten its pigmentation.<\/p>\n Worried about how her daughter would cope with bullying, Zheng began preparing her to deal with people from a young age.<\/p>\n She taught Charlotte that GCMN was \u201cnothing but a birthmark\u201d and that if people asked about it, she should simply tell them what it was.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that was what she had been doing since pre-school. Of course, before she started pre-school, we informed the principal so that she could tell the teachers. By letting her tell her friends, classmates and teachers about her condition, we have helped build her strength and confidence,\u201d Zheng said.<\/p>\n Her peers and teachers came to understand her condition, and Zheng said that, surprisingly, Charlotte was never bullied, not even in primary school.<\/p>\n \u201cHer friends even gave her the nickname \u2018spotty leopard\u2019, which she was fine with. They stopped calling her that as they grew older,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Charlotte loves adventure and sports, especially rock climbing, and would often put her condition aside to immerse herself in her hobbies. However, she needed to avoid sunlight as much as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told that because of her rare condition, there was a possibility of her developing more moles elsewhere on her body, as well as an increased risk of skin cancer,\u201d Zheng said.<\/p>\n Her mother also admitted that she was worried about Charlotte, who will be starting secondary school in 2027, especially as spots have appeared on her face.<\/p>\n Studies have shown that about three in 10 children with GCMN experience social isolation, bullying or exclusion by their peers.<\/p>\n \u201cCharlotte met another child with GCMN at the Rare Skin Conditions Society \u2013 a little boy named Pin Hao \u2013 and they became fast friends. Pin Hao went for surgery to remove some of the spots on his face, and Charlotte made up her mind that she wanted to do likewise. I told her it would be painful, but she had her mind set on it,\u201d Zheng said.<\/p>\n Surgery often requires multiple procedures and can leave scarring.<\/p>\n Koh said: \u201cSmaller or \u2018satellite\u2019 moles often sprout in patients with giant congenital nevus. These can occur anywhere on the skin. The lesions may be removed if there is a cosmetic concern, like when they appear on the face. They can be removed by surgery or lasers.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that surgery can remove the spots entirely, and there is a smaller chance of recurrence. Laser treatment is usually not recommended because of the high risk of recurrence.<\/p>\n Zheng said: \u201cI hope Charlotte continues to be confident as she grows. After all, everyone is born to look different, and we should all feel beautiful in our own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 \u201cThey are my birthmarks.\u201d That was what 12-year-old Charlotte Lim told everyone and anyone who bothered to ask her about the spots on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
Confident tomboy<\/h2>\n
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