Woman has ‘pulsating lump’ that left her too self-conscious for photos removed

Lauren Brook had an unusual lump on her forehead that would pulsate and grow, but now she’s had it removed after it began to affect her self-confidence and she wouldn’t pose for photos

A woman who had a ‘pulsating lump’ on her forehead has had the growth removed – after growing too self-conscious to pose for photos with her son.

Lauren Brook baffled doctors when she showed them the growth on her face and no one could figure out what it is was.

She had it for two years and it grew after the birth of her son, and on some occasions, she could see it pulsating on her face when she looked at it in the mirror.

Now, she has finally had it properly diagnosed and has gone under the knife to have it removed, after appearing on The Bad Skin Clinic, a TV show on Discovery UK.

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Lauren, who appeared on The Bad Skin Clinic, said: “I’ve had this unknown lump for about two years, and no one has given me a correct diagnosis.

“I’m just so eager to find out what it is.

“It puts so much strain on my day-to-day life. I just don’t feel confident anymore.

“I just don’t want to be outside – I don’t want people to see me.

“As I start the day it’s quite small like now, but by the end of the day it gets massive.

“You can see it pulsating, and I can feel the pressure on my forehead.

“Over the last year since I’ve had my baby, it’s just been growing bigger and bigger – the more stressed I feel, the bigger it looks and the more noticeable it is.

“The lump has affected the first year of my son’s life – we don’t really have that many memories and photos.

“When I’m on social media I see all these new mums with all their photos. It just breaks my heart.”

Lauren described the lump as about the size of a golf ball and added that it was completely painless, and she finally got it diagnosed after visiting dermatological surgeon Dr Emma Craythorne at her clinic in central London.

Dr Craythorne said: “I’ve seen a lot of lipomas in my time, and none of them have this story.

“Whenever I’m pressing on that vein, it fills up with blood; it becomes engorged. That’s why it gets bigger like that.

“Whenever I put my finger on the draining vein, you could see it expand.

“It’s not a lipoma, and it’s not a cyst. This is entirely related to the little veins and arteries that we have in our body. This is something called a vascular malformation.

“Sometimes you can get them from banging your head.”

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During the episode of The Bad Skin Clinic, which is available on discovery+, Lauren is taken in for surgery to have the lump removed.

Several weeks later, Lauren appeared to have made a full recovery and was back at Dr Craythorne’s clinic.

Dr Craythorne said: “There’s nothing there now, it’s all just smooth.

“You know, once this bruise has gone, you’re not going to have any scar there at all.”

A vascular malformation is a medical term used to describe abnormalities in blood vessels, which could be in large arteries and veins, or smaller vessels.

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