Baby born w/o a face..WOW!!

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I recently ran across this story about a baby born w/ no face. She can see but she has to breathe w/ a trach and eat through her stomach via feeding tube. Here is her story w/ a short video clip below..

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=28372

Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

An amnio wouldn't really show that. Treacher Collin usually isn't that severe. I hope that they can fix her poor little face...plastics does such a great job.

My guess is Rusty that if you had a baby with some sort of physical defect you wouldn't want it....not everything shows up on prenatals. You can't predict if the baby had a stroke, or something else, so what is the difference? I wish that everyone had a perfect Gerber baby, but it doesn't happen.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

An amnio wouldn't really show that. Treacher Collin usually isn't that severe. I hope that they can fix her poor little face...plastics does such a great job.

My guess is Rusty that if you had a baby with some sort of physical defect you wouldn't want it....not everything shows up on prenatals. You can't predict if the baby had a stroke, or something else, so what is the difference? I wish that everyone had a perfect Gerber baby, but it doesn't happen.

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At the company I work at, we used to have tons of Plastic Surgery Journals laying around. Some of them showed people with Treacher Collin's, their before and after pictures. They may just be showing their best results, but some of those pictures were amazing. They were able to really transform their faces by bringing out the chin, and maybe touching up other aspects of their face, like their nose or cheek bones.

I really hope they can help this little girl. But I just wonder how doctor's can operate that many times without creating too much scar tissue.

Do they ever reach a point where the patient just has to "live with" the results of their latest surgery until their face is through changing due to growth spurts (like when the patient still has to go through puberty?)

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At the company I work at, we used to have tons of Plastic Surgery Journals laying around. Some of them showed people with Treacher Collin's, their before and after pictures. They may just be showing their best results, but some of those pictures were amazing. They were able to really transform their faces by bringing out the chin, and maybe touching up other aspects of their face, like their nose or cheek bones.

I really hope they can help this little girl. But I just wonder how doctor's can operate that many times without creating too much scar tissue.

Do they ever reach a point where the patient just has to "live with" the results of their latest surgery until their face is through changing due to growth spurts (like when the patient still has to go through puberty?)

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I don't really know if an amnio could pick up this syndrome or not. Is this not a neuro tube defect?

I'm not suggesting anything but if these defects are know early enough in the pregnancy then the parents can make a decision.

I know not everyone can have a perfect baby.

-R

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I don't really know if an amnio could pick up this syndrome or not. Is this not a neuro tube defect?

I'm not suggesting anything but if these defects are know early enough in the pregnancy then the parents can make a decision.

I know not everyone can have a perfect baby.

-R

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

wow what a kid! Personality!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

wow what a kid! Personality!

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I didn't mean to pull the plug on this thread. Just voicing my thoughts. I know a bit about birth defects. After 20 years my heart is still broken.

-Russell

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

Love conquers all things.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

i've seen a few kids like this in my day (not that specific syndrome, but others). my first reaction is always the same.. i'm usually grossed out at first. but like any baby, they start to grow on you, and they become cute, in their own special way. and when they have a personality like hers, you can look past their appearance. but in our world, we are so fixated on looks. my 4 yr old was waching the clip, and she laughed at first. i expained that she has a lot of boo boos on her face. i asked her if she thought she looked scary, she said yes. i told her she just looks a little different, but is still a regular litttle girl. i try not to hide things like that from her, i work with chronically ill kids, and she's seen some of them. i don't want her to be so judgemental and scared of people who are different.

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That is such a touching story, thanks for sharing:) That is one amazing family.

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