6 month old baby goes under the knife to remove her second mouth
One six-month-old recently went into surgery to remove her second mouth. The baby turned out to be one of only 35 people in the world with this condition
One young, South Carolina baby, who has only seen the light of the world for six months has had to go into surgery after being born with a second mouth.
The baby was one of only 35 people in the world to suffer from Diprosopus, a condition which is much more common in animals.
The mouth measured 0.8 inches and was positioned on the side of the baby's chin. While kind of terrifying, doctors have noted that the baby's two mouths were not connected but the second mouth did have the potential to grow teeth. The doctors first spotted the mouth in the 28th week of pregnancy but mistook it for a tumour.
Doctors also reported that the mouth would also sometimes produce a clear liquid. That would be saliva.
The poor child was scheduled for surgery which involved the filing down of the jaw bone to remove any extra bone supporting the second mouth's teeth. The surgery was reported in BMJ Case Reports Journal which stated:
After surgery, she developed some mild fullness of the right face at the surgical incision for which a scan was performed, revealing a fluid collection. The fullness resolved over several months and she did not require further treatment. At the six-month follow-up, the incisions were well-healed and the patient was feeding without difficulty.
Unfortunately, the journal also noted that the baby was unable to move one half of it's lower lip indicating muscle damage.
Doctors claim that the condition was caused by an error in the proteins responsible for facial structure in the womb, which can lead to a widening of facial features or extra facial features.
