A little boy had his skull taken apart and pieced back together just like a jigsaw to stop it from crushing his brain.
Leo Hutchinson, five, from Cardiff, was born with a rare condition, known as sagittal craniosynostosis, that caused his skull to fuse together and press on his vital organ, which can cause blindness or severe brain damage if untreated.
The youngster was just seven months old when he endured his first nine-hour operation that involved taking out ‘every bit of skull’ and ‘cutting it into pieces’.
A second procedure required Leo be fit with Frankenstein-like bolts that his mother had to twist every day to relieve pressure on his head.
Although Leo is recovering well, he has been left with a zig-zag scar across his scalp.
Leo Hutchinson had his skull taken apart and pieced back to stop it from crushing his brain
Leo was born with a rare condition that caused his skull to fuse together and press on his vital organ (pictured with his mother Georgia and stepfather Dominic)
The youngster was just seven months old when he endured his first nine-hour operation
‘I look at him every day and I’m thankful he’s here’
Leo’s mother Georgia said: ‘I’m so proud of him. I look at him every day and I’m thankful he’s here.
‘Things could have gone a completely different way. I’m just pleased I kept on and on to my health professional that there was something wrong with him.’
Twenty weeks into Georgia’s pregnancy, doctors noticed Leo’s head was larger than most babies in the womb.
Yet, when he was born, a paediatrician checked him over and discharged him from hospital.
Georgia later became concerned when Leo was failing to reach some of his key milestones, such as sitting up unaided.
After much persistence from his mother, doctors finally diagnosed Leo with sagittal craniosynostosis and told her he required an operation.
The nine-hour surgery took place when he was just seven months old and was conducted in Birmingham.
A second procedure required Leo be fit with Frankenstein-like bolts that his mother twisted
Leo (left) is recovering well but has been left with a zig-zag scar on his scalp (pictured with his brother Coby and sister Myah). Untreated he could have suffered blindness or brain damage
Doctors noticed Leo’s head was larger than most babies in the womb but were unconcerned
His mother was aware Leo was not reaching his milestones (pictured with his grandfather Lee)
‘They basically took every bit of his skull out’
Georgia said: ‘They basically took every bit of his skull out, cut it all up into pieces, put holes and slits in it and put it back together.
‘They took his forehead out and flipped it upside down and put it back in.
‘It was an awful thing for my first child to go through.’
Although traumatic, without surgery doctors believe Leo would have gone blind or suffered severe brain damage.
Two years after the first operation, scans revealed Leo was experiencing swelling of the optic nerve.
He then had a second operation, which involved inserting screws into the side of his head that his mother had to twist every day.
Georgia said: ‘This time, instead of taking the skull out they inserted two sliders on each side of his skull.
‘It was then my job to turn these sliders with a special key – once in the morning and once in the night – to relieve any press on his brain.’
She did this for 28 days before the sliders were taken out.
Both operations were successful and Leo is now making ‘amazing progress’.