Horns implanted in his head to help remove birthmark on face

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Horns implanted in his head to help remove birthmark on face

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To his mum, George, 5, has always been her angel-faced boy even when he sprouted satanic horns.

25 September,2011 07:18 pm

The five-year-old was born with a large, unsightly red birthmark right in the middle of his forehead.Before they removed it, surgeons first implanted two tissue expanders under his skin, which gradually inflated to look like Devil horns.These horns stretched George’s unblemished skin. Later surgeons cut out his birthmark and in its place stitched together this new skin.And now the only mark George is left with is a rakish Harry Potter scar.Mum Karen, 33, said yesterday: “When I first saw the implants in place I was speechless.“They were larger than I expected – and on either side of his tiny head they looked like horns.“My angel-faced baby looked like the Devil – like Frankenstein. They didn’t look nice at all.“But I’m really proud of the strength George has shown throughout all of this. He has never let any of it hold him back.”George was born with a haemangioma birthmark, made up of bright, soft lumps of abnormal blood vessels.Karen, of Radstock, Somerset, said: “When he was born immediately my mind raced forward 10 years.“George would be the picked-on kid with no friends, no girlfriend. ”Aged three, George was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to begin the procedure to remove the growth.Last year doctors inserted two small inflatable sacks under his hairline at either side of his forehead. These were gradually inflated with natural bodily fluid until his skin was stretched enough to reach over the birthmark when it was eventually removed in April.Although Karen feared George would be bullied because of his birthmark, she hadn’t counted on the cruel taunts from passers-by in the four months when her son had his horns.Karen – who is separated from George’s printer father Lee – said: “I had no problem loving my son but others’ reactions were hard to deal with. Pushing him in his pram, people were staring at us, whispering. School kids would snigger as I scuttled past. “Once a lad poked his face in the pram to have a look and uttered a cry of disgust. “What I’m most proud of is that through it all I’ve seen strength in George that I never had as a child. “My little Devil has got guts. And with or without his birthmark and his horns, I’ll always love him to bits for that.”