A gorgeous Australian mom decided to use a laser to remove a birthmark from her Gold Coast baby. Now, she is being called a “monster” for going through with the procedure on the little one. Although the 33-year-old mother, Brooke Atkins, just welcomed her second child, Kingsley, into the world just six months ago, she and her partner Kewene Wallace, 27, noticed that the little one had a “port wine” birthmark covering half of the baby’s face which they did not particularly like and wished they could remove, so they decided to DIY it.
Typically, port-wine birthmarks are harmless. However, they can be linked with harmful health problems like glaucoma or Sturge Weber Syndrome if they are over the face, like over the eye, as was the case for baby Kingsley. If the situation is not treated, it can lead to seizures and other disabilities. And glaucoma can lead to blindness later in life. Mother Brooke did not want her little baby to have to deal with blindness or seizures at any point in his life, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and laser off the port-wine birthmark before anything happened to him.
Unfortunately, Kingsley was diagnosed with both conditions. Doctors said he was going to develop both glaucoma and Sturge-Weber Syndrome and potentially have seizures in life.
“The thing with port wine stains is that they are progressive, meaning they will change and darken over time,” Brooke said. In addition to being Kinsley’s mother, she is also the mother of two-year-old Amarni.
She added, “They can develop a ‘cobblestone’ appearance, with raised bumps, ridges, and the risk of vascular blebs, where they dangerously bleed. Once a port wine stain gets to this stage, it is often very difficult to treat, and laser barely has any effect, as the skin is already far too damaged.”
Because she did not want her son to develop these horrible symptoms, she decided to get his port wine birthmark removed by laser treatment. Internet trolls were not supportive.
“The only way to treat a port wine stain is through laser treatments, and the most effective laser for it is called a Pulsed Dye Laser. When he was first born, we were referred to the Queensland Children’s Hospital dermatology and vascular department, where they organized the first treatment and explained in further detail why laser would be important. The purpose of the laser treatments is not to ‘remove’ the birthmark but instead keep the skin healthy, to prevent any further damage to the area.”
After Brooke shared Kingsley’s progress on TikTok, she was slammed by internet trolls and called a “monster” for putting her six-month-old son through laser treatments.
“Don’t think I could laser my baby,” one critic wrote.
Another commented: “That birthmark is barely visible. What you’re doing to him is horrible. It’s more for you than him.”
What do you think about this laser treatment on the baby?
