Toddler Left With 'Deviled Horns' After Surgery To Treat Rare Brain Condition

A 22-month-old baby suffering from a rare brain condition was left with a disfigured skull, looking like "devil horns," after undergoing a surgery to reduce pressure on his brain. Clyne Solano of Phillipines, was born with a condition called hydranencephaly — where the brain size is small and the remaining cranial cavity is filled with cerebrospinal fluid.

During the surgery to drain fluid from his head, the boy's skull collapsed where his brain hadn't formed, leaving ridges on his head. Clyne will now require a reconstructive surgery to restore the shape of his skull. However, his mother is worried he is too weak to undergo another surgery.

"I don't want to proceed with it for now because I am afraid that my baby is not yet strong enough," said Justine Gatarin, a single mother, to Daily Mail. "This is why I am having a hard time making a decision. If we don't do it, his head will look like that for the rest of his life... Some people say his head resembles devil horns, but to us there's no doubt he is an angel. It breaks my heart to see him suffering."

The toddler, who is being treated at the Philippines Children's Medical Center in Pasig, a city in the metropolitan district of Manila, is fighting to survive hydranencephaly that doesn't allow the brain to develop and can cause disability, intellectual problems, seizures and vision problems. The condition is incurable and treatment involves using a tube to drain fluid out of the skull.

Clyne, who is being treated at the Philippines Children's Medical Center in Pasig, a city in the metropolitan district of Manila, must be fed through a tube and has a pipe inserted into his airway to help him breathe, Daily Mail reported.

"My son already had the operation for his hydronencephaly. This made his head cave in the middle... To fix this, he will need a reconstructive surgery," the 21-year-old mother said. "We sold almost everything we own to have enough money for the operation. But even after the operation we still have to go back to the hospital regularly."

"The tube in his neck which allows him to breathe needs to be replaced every six months. I am sad to see my baby suffering like this... If only I could switch places with him I would do it right now. We will keep fighting for as long as Clyne does. And when he has no strength we will be there for him," the mother added.

Babies born with hydranencephaly may have obvious symptoms at birth, however, in some cases, it may take weeks or months for obvious signs to appear. The most noticeable symptom is an enlarged head. Other common hydranencephaly symptoms include, seizures and uncontrolled movements, lack of growth, breathing and digestion problems, difficulty regulating body temperature, vision problems and intellectual disability.