More on "Radium Ice" -Reply

[FRAMEP@ORAU.GOV]

Dale Boyce wrote:

>It seems that a patient at another institution remembers being
>told that they had undergone "Radium Ice" treatments at a Chicago
>area hospital to remove a "port wine birthmark".  This happened 
>when the patient was an infant, about thirty years ago.  Does
>anyone know anything what ever about whether radiation treatments
>were used for this purpose?  

Dale:

Located a couple of references. Port wine marks didn't respond well
to radiation. The treatment often only lightened certain areas and
made them "patchier" in appearance. Surface beta treatments were used
as well as thorium X, grenz rays and P-32. I didn't find a reference
to the use of radium for port wine marks but did find one for other
types of birth marks. For the latter, radium wasn't recommended
unless the birthmark was in a conspicuous area. If radium was used,
it was recommended that the dose be high enough to kill all the
cells, produce a flexible scar and avoid malignancies. (note, these
are not my personnal recommendations). 

Also found a reference to the use of radium solutions in balloons -
not something you'd want to drop.

Paul Frame
Oak Ridge Associated Universities