Third Opinion? Don't Mind if I Do.

When I left the Mayo Clinic on Friday, I had a feeling that this wasn't the last time this particular doctor would think of S and try to get to the bottom of what's going on.  Giving the diagnosis of Androgenetic Alopecia on a 1 year old is unheard of.  In fact, I don't know if there are any documented cases of it ever happening.  And with that diagnosis, it makes the hairloss almost a symptom of something bigger.  I had the feeling that the doctor cared, and that she would be following up on this.  I had that same impression from the Endocrinologist we saw at the UofM.  She called my house the next day and said she couldn't get S out of her mind.  Doctors love a challenge, right?

Yesterday as I was sitting at work, I got a call from the doctor at the Mayo Clinic.  She started off by saying not all the bloodwork has come back yet, but what has come back is all normal.  This is all great news!  She then said that after she met TT on Friday, she consulted with a doctor in her department who is one of the leading experts on hairloss in children.  Dr. T (This leading expert doctor lady) was stumped.  She looked at the pictures of TT and was unsettled by the diagnosis of Androgenetic Alopecia.  She decided to consult with some of the leaders in this topic in the world who practice out on the west coast.  She shared TT's picture with a group of doctors out there, and all of these physicians were very interested in TT's case. After reviewing the pictures as well as the tests that have been done on TT, they called the doctors at Mayo to say that they thought it was another form of Alopecia called Alopecia Areata.  In the last few months, I've become quite the hairloss expert, and there are many forms of hairloss, and there are also many forms of Alopecia.  Alopecia Areata (AA) is the most common type of hairloss in children, but it usually presents itself much differently.  This is the more common look of children with AA.

The bald spots this condition cause are usually complete baldness.  TT's hair is more thinning.  Again, a pic of TT.

TT doesn't have complete baldness.  In fact, I can see why 2 doctors thought Androgenetic Alopecia.  It does follow the same pattern as many with male/female pattern baldness.  But again, my daughter being 1, if the Androgenetic Alopecia diagnosis was correct, than more likely than not, something more serious was causing this.

The Mayo Doctor explained AA to me, and said that TT presents differently than any child she's ever diagnosed with this.  She prescribed me a topical steroid and directed me to put it on the affected area twice a day, and that most children see improvement in 8 to 12 weeks.  She said that she doesn't know how TT will react to it because  nothing about TT's case has been normal. 

The diagnosis of AA was a relief to me.  It is much more common in children, and it rules out some of the scary stuff that was being discussed with me, such as hormonal tumors, adrenal system issues, etc.  And now TT is just a child who has AA, instead of being a child with Androgenetic Alopecia, which is probably more like 1 in a million.  And, there is a safe medicine for AA.  Whether it works or not is still to be seen, but at least there is something out there.  And some children with AA, the hair grows back on it's own.  Where again, if this was truly Androgenetic Alopecia, the hair would be gone. . . forever. 

I just want to add that the Mayo Clinic is not paying me for their endorsement.  Ha.  :)  I'm just so impressed with them.  The doctor we saw Friday was wonderful, but she was stumped.  She consulted with another Mayo doctor before going to world experts in this field.  It is that kind of attention that makes me feel like I'm in the best hands possible. 

I'll go back to Mayo in about 6 weeks to see this Dr. T woman who is a leading expert in the field.   I'm hoping we have some new growth by then.

I also want to add. . . at the end of the day, if TT loses her hair, but has no life threatening disease, I consider myself very lucky.  Doctoring these past few months, you see some very sad situations at the children's hospitals we have visited.  If this is the worst medical condition we deal with in our family, I will consider us all VERY VERY lucky.