Baby With Swollen Head Hopes For Life-Saving Surgery

A MOTHER hopes for surgery for her baby boy whose head has swollen to TWICE its natural size

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Videographer / director: Rehman Asad
Producer: Nick Johnson
Editor: Joshua Douglas

Mohammed Hasan is 18-months old and has a head twice the size of an average baby

Born a healthy baby boy, Mohammad Hasan’s head started to dramatically swell when he was just 16 days old.

Now 18-months-old Hasan’s head measures an astonishing 69cm in circumference and is so big he is unable to support the weight of it.

The toddler's head started swelling when he was just 16 days old

His mother Sharmin Akter, noticed her son’s unusual appearance but was unable to take her baby to a hospital that had the facilities to treat him.

Worried mother Sharmin is hoping Doctor Sheik Mohammad Ekramullah will be able to help her son

She said: “When my son was born, his condition was good. After his head started to grow strangely big I worried to see him.

“Within 16 to 18 days of my child’s birth his head size began to enlarge. After that we took him to the local doctor in our village but due to our financial condition we were not able to take him to any good doctor.”

Sharmin's husband blamed her for Hasan's condition

To add to the worries of her son, 19-year-old Sharmin was abandoned by her husband, who blamed his wife for Hasan’s condition.

Sharmin now lives with her father in Laotara Village, in southwestern Bangladesh. And after a local journalist covered Hasan’s story, the toddler was referred to the National Institute of Neurosciences Hospital in Dhaka on March 5, 2017.

The mother has not had enough money to send Hasan to a specialist

Doctors have diagnosed Hasan with hydrocephalus, a condition often referred to as water on the brain. Caused by a build up of cerebrospinal fluid, the brain typically produces a pint of this fluid, which protects the brain by removing waste products and providing nutrients.

But when the cerebrospinal fluid doesn’t sufficiently drain, it can place pressure on the brain and in young children, whose skulls haven’t fully hardened and fused, it can cause swelling.

Fortunately, after a local journalist covered Hasan's story. he was sent to hospital

Left untreated hydrocephalus can cause long-term complications and even death.
Hasan will be treated by Doctor Sheik Mohammad Ekramullah, the associate professor and head of Paediatric Neurosurgery at the National Institute, who has treated over 80 children with hydrocephalus.

Hydrocephalus is caused by a build up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain

And Sharmin is hopeful that her son will now get the treatment he needs to overcome his condition.
She said: “I want to see a cure for my son. He is my last hope.”