Meet Baby Son Born With Part Of His Brain On His Nose, Encephalocele

Ollie Trezise was born with encephalocele, a defect which causes the brain to grow through a hole in the skull, and has had to have several painful operations to allow him to breathe.

The full-time mum-of-two first discovered Ollie’s condition at her 20-week scan where doctors told her he had some soft tissue growing on his face, but didn’t know exactly how it would develop. When she gave birth to him in February 2014 at Cardiff University Hospital, she was shocked when she saw the unexpected growth on Ollie’s face.

The 22-year-old from Maesteg, Wales said: ‘When they gave me Ollie to hold, I was so surprised that I almost couldn’t speak. ‘He was so tiny, but there was this enormous golf-ball sized lump on his nose. ‘At first I wasn’t sure how I would cope. But I knew that I would love him no matter what he looked like.’

Over the next few months, Ollie’s nose grew bigger as he grew, becoming more prominent on his face.

In November 2014, he was forced to undergo a two-hour operation to open up his nasal passage so that he could breathe.

Amy, who has since split with her partner, said: ‘I was so scared to let Ollie undergo such major surgery. He was so fragile, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

Doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital had to cut open Ollie’s skull to remove the excess sac of brain fluid and rebuild his nose. Ollie has now fully recovered and enjoys playing with his four-year-old sister, Annabelle.

Amy hopes that he won’t be bullied at school when he grows up and said ‘he is such a lovely boy that it’s impossible not to adore him’. Ollie will need to undergo further surgery in the future, but doctors are waiting to see how his skull develops before performing any more intensive surgery.

What is Encephalocele?

Encephalocele is a rare type of neural tube defect that affects the brain.

It is described as a sac-like protrusion of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull.

Encephalocele occurs when the neural tube does not close completely during pregnancy.

This results in an opening between the forehead and the nose or the back of the skull.

It affects about 1.7 births out of 10,000 in the UK. A metro.co.uk report