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" Question We have been told by a doctor that my son has hemihypertrophy but we were not told what it is and what this could mean for my son&amp;#039;s future. He&amp;#039;s only eight-years-old.  If you could help us with any information we would be extremely grateful.  What is hemihypertrophy and what is the outlook?   Answer Hemihypertrophy is a condition which causes one side of the body to grow faster than the other.  In some children there is only partial enlargement of, for example, the foot or below the knee, but in others there is an overgrowth of the whole of one side of the body involving the leg, abdomen, chest, arm and face.  Often no cause for the condition can be found, but because in some cases the overgrowth of the body tissues can be due to some kind of tumour, children with hemihypertrophy will usually have investigations to try and detect any such underlying problem.  Hemihypertrophy is sometimes associated with benign (non-cancerous) tumours of blood vessels or lymph vessels or with a Wilm&amp;#039;s tumour, which is a form of cancer of the kidneys found in children.  As your son is already eight, and 90 per cent of Wilm&amp;#039;s tumours occur in children younger than seven, this is unlikely to be the underlying cause of his hemihypertrophy.  You ask what the outlook is for him. It is always difficult to predict the future, but apart from being larger than usual the tissues on the overgrown side of his body should be structurally normal and should continue to function in a normal way throughout his life.  The difference in size between the two sides of his body may well remain constant as he grows, although in some children it may become more marked when they go through puberty.  If his hemihypertrophy is relatively subtle he may not feel self-conscious about it, but if at any stage he does become upset or embarrassed about his appearance do talk to your GP as he might benefit from seeing someone like a child psychologist to try and help him come to terms with his condition.  Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team   Other Q&amp;amp;As Can you tell me about Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s disease? Congenital ptosis Cystic fibrosis Dandy-Walker syndrome Does my son have Klinefelter&amp;#039;s syndrome? Fragile X syndrome Help needed for Osgood-Schlatter&amp;#039;s disease Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura Hydrocephalus I&amp;#039;m worried about my two-year-old&amp;#039;s lungs I think my son has Paget&amp;#039;s disease Kawasaki syndrome &amp;amp;#8211; what are the long-term consequences? Multiple sclerosis in childhood My daughter has a hole-in-the-heart My daughter has hypothyroidism My daughter was born with a sacral dimple My grandson has Aarskog syndrome My nephew has a germ cell tumour My nephew has neuromata My son has Gilbert&amp;#039;s disease Niemann-Pick disease Sacral dimple on the base of the spine Scoliosis Spina bifida occulta Tetralogy of Fallot Thrombocytopenia Vernal conjunctivitis problem What causes hydronephrosis? What does &amp;#039;crossed lateral&amp;#039; mean? What is autoimmune colitis? What is brittle asthma? What is fragile X syndrome? What is Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura? What is Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s? What is Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s disease? What is HSP? What is Kabuki syndrome? What is Kawasaki disease? What can you tell me about Perthes&amp;#039; disease? What is Perthes&amp;#039; disease? What is Pierre Robin syndrome? What is pulmonary oedema? What is spina bifida occulta?   Last updated 15.05.2014 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/pregnancy-and-family/a10121/what-is-hemihypertrophy/>