Toddler, Riley Campbell, who was born with a tumour one-and-a-half times heavier than him, has finally been freed of his growth.
The boy, now 16 months from Irvine, Ayrshire, was born with a rare lymphatic malformation, which meant he was unable to walk because of its size.
The tumour growing from Riley’s back was so big it had its own blood supply and weighed a whopping 4.5lb when it was removed. Riley was just 3lb when he was born.
When Riley’s mum Yvonne was pregnant, doctors first spotted the growth during her 32-week scan however were unable to establish whether the growth was attached to Yvonne or her unborn baby.
After a series of detailed scans, the family discovered that the growth was attached to Riley and that it had caused him to lose blood in the womb.
Shortly after their discovery, Yvonne went into a premature labour and Riley was born by emergency caesarean five weeks early, weighing seven-and-a-half pounds (including the growth).
Riley was immediately transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick children in Glasgow where he was diagnosed with a lymphatic malformation, which is the result of an abnormal development of the lymphatic vessels that drain fluid from tissues. When these tissues develop abnormally, they can cause swelling, causing cysts or tumours.
Newborn Riley was kept in intensive care straight from birth so doctors could monitor him, as they feared the growth could rupture and cause Riley to bleed to death.
Recalling the moment she saw her son, mum Yvonne said: “I’d tried to prepare myself but I didn’t know what to expect. The growth was massive. It seemed to be growing as he did.”
After two weeks in hospital, doctors concluded that he was too small for major surgery and worried that the tumour was too close to his liver and lungs to operate.
“It was such a relief when he come home but we were so scared. We had to be so careful. We were taught how to resuscitate him and were told to take him straight to hospital if he became pale or listless,” Yvonne told the Daily Record.
“As he got older, I wouldn’t let him out my sight in case he knocked it and it bled like it did in the womb. When he learnt how to walk, he kept falling over because of the weight of it.”
When Riley reached his first birthday, doctors decided it was safe to operate after scans revealed that the scan had moved to his ribs and muscles. After 10 hours of surgery, doctors were able to remove every piece of the growth, bit by bit.
Riley needed a blood transfusion and skin grafts to cover the huge scar, and was put in intensive care whilst his body was recovering.
“It was horrible seeing him lying there lifeless and a machine breathing for him. The first time I saw his scar, I was quite upset but I’m so glad he had the operation. I want him to be proud of his scar. I call it his shark bite.”