Russian doctors can safely remove the “Batman Mask” birthmark from the face of an American girl

Russian doctors have been able to safely and permanently remove the “Batman mask nevus” from the face of a two-year-old American girl, using pioneering surgery.

Medical reports revealed that Luna Tavares-Fenner, from Florida, has completely cured her birthmark using leading medical methods not available in the United States, and she will now travel to her country to celebrate Christmas, and return with the beginning of the new year for a cosmetic treatment.

 

Luna had a huge birthmark covering her nose and eyelids, and had made regular trips with her mother to Russia over the past two years for treatment.

Luna received photodynamic therapy, which is not available in the United States.

Luna was born with a congenital pigmentary nevus, a skin condition that produces abnormally dark abnormalities, usually across the face.

Carol Viner, 37, from Florida, brought her eight-month-old daughter, Luna, to the Russian city of Krasnodar in the hope of treating her rare skin condition.

After a series of complex surgeries, which amounted to nearly 12 operations, the birthmark was removed from the face of the girl, who is now two years and nine months old, thanks to a pioneering technique that causes the death of the birthmark tissue and the growth of new, healthy skin underneath.

In an exclusive interview, Dr. Pavel Popov told East2West News: “Luna has really started talking and saying to herself, ‘My black spot is gone. I’m a princess”.

And there have been concerns about skin cancer, as this type of birthmark can increase the risk of developing the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

The melanoma associated with these large birthmarks is difficult to treat and has a low survival rate, MedlinePlus reports. There is an early risk of it developing during childhood.

Mother Caroline said she faced a difficult decision to bring Luna to Russia and undergo treatments, with many describing her as “crazy” to travel this way and undergo expensive treatments.
“I wanted to avoid the aggressive surgeries I was seeing in other doctors in the US,” she explained.

Caroline and her husband, Thiago, raised $69,700 to treat their daughter at a clinic in Krasnodar, Russia.

The family also had the support of an unidentified Russian donor who they called “The Miracle”.

Dr. Popov started work in 2019 and said in a statement this week: “We’ve only had six operations to remove the birthmark and have been successful in making it go away. The main medical part of the job has been done. That doesn’t mean we’re done with the treatment at all. We’re letting Luna take a break from The treatment I underwent and after that we will do the plastic surgeries.”

He continued, “We later aim to make sure that Luna will not have any abnormalities when she reaches the age when she is concerned about her appearance.”

Dr Popov noted that the treatment was “successful” and that he was “completely satisfied with the result”.

Dr. Popov explained that it is not clear how long the cosmetic part of Luna’s treatment will take due to obstacles such as the “Covid-19” epidemic.

Luna’s mother said, “I do not regret at all receiving treatment here. Luna does not feel pain. She dances a few hours after the surgery.”

Surgeries for congenital melanocytic nevus include laser and excision. But Luna underwent phototherapy, a treatment that involves a photosensitive drug and a light source to destroy the abnormal cells, according to medical reports.