A baby has been given a new forehead after successfully completing his reconstructive surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital last week.
Teddy Jones, who turns two in October, was born with craniosynostosis - a brain defect where the bones in a baby's skull join together too early. The adorable toddler needed surgery to prevent any future issues from increased pressure on his brain.
Teddy, from Skelton, visited Alder Hey for surgery and stayed with his family at the Ronald McDonald House. Teddy's mum Beki dropped Teddy off for his surgery on March 28 and got him back around 10 hours later.
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Teddy's surgery means as his brain grows there will be plenty of space. Without the operation he could have experienced a number of problems including issues with his vision, speech or even seizures.
Teddy's mum Beki told TeessideLive : "We were given 10 days' notice for his surgery. We knew it was coming and we knew that children usually have it before they are two.
"They said his surgery was planned for the 28th, so we were a bit nervous, but it was sort of a blessing really because we didn't have too much time to sit around and panic about it. On Monday morning, we went down at about 9am and I didn't get Teddy back till 6.30pm that night.
"It was a long day. When he came back he was a bit groggy from all the medication, but he was absolutely cracking. You wouldn't think he'd been through what he went through.
"His surgery was called fronto-orbital advancement surgery. They cut his head from ear to ear across the top, removed part of his skull and remodelled it, and put it back. It took them so long because it's not one forehead fits all - it's a bespoke thing. They've made it so it fits his face as it didn't really before."
Teddy's surgery caused his face to swell up restricting his vision for a number of days. Beki said he was "frustrated" but hadn't "appeared to be in much pain".
She added: "Two days after the surgery his eyes swelled up and he couldn't open them at all, they were really clamped shut. He was frustrated because he couldn't run around.
"By Friday, his eyes were opening a bit. He's still really swollen and he probably will be for another six weeks but at least he can see."
Beki has previously fundraised for the Ronald McDonald house where Teddy stayed in free of charge on his recent visit to Alder Hey. She said: "I'm a member of a group on Facebook that's got parents with children with the same condition that Teddy has.
"We'd been trying to raise enough money for one of the rooms for a year. It costs £5,000 a year to run one of the rooms at the Ronald McDonald house. I raised almost £5,000 myself from a fun day and bits and bobs. Collectively as a group, we raised £15,000, which will pay for the room for a year for families to stay in."
Beki says she's so pleased with the success of the operation: "He'll now have enough space for his brain to grow into. It's absolutely amazing what they can do."
