Miracle baby girl born without SKIN stuns doctors by surviving against the odds

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: The baby was born with Harlequin Ichthyosis, with doctors predicting she will need a lifetime of treatment to moisturise her outer body

 CEN  

Doctors say the baby girl will need a lifetime of treatment                                                      


A baby girl has been born with one of the world's rarest conditions that leaves her without any external body skin

The condition, known as Harlequin Ichthyosis, is classed as a severe genetic illness which distorts the skin into armour-like layers.

Forming thick, white plates, the layers are separated by deep cracks which will need constant treatment.
The baby girl was born in the city of Amravati in central India's Maharashtra State to a 23-year-old woman.
Delivered by caesarean, doctors at the Lata Mangeshkar Medical College and Hospital said the tragic girl was born with almost no skin at all.

Paediatrician Dr Yash Banait said she was born with the congenital disorder which would mean the baby will need lifelong treatment to moisturise her outer body.

He said they were using petroleum jelly and coconut oil and giving the child a special nutritional supplement.
Harlequin Ichthyosis affects approximately 1 in 300,000 births.

 

Barcroft Media

Local media reports say the girl's parents were too poor to afford a detection test during pregnancy

Dr Yash Banait said: "There is no skin on the body, so skin grafting is not a possibility. But the baby hasn’t developed any breathing problems lest she would have required to be kept on ventilation.

"We will be undertaking a 2D Echo investigation to ascertain the cardiac deformities or anomalies, if any."
He added: "The baby is not finding any difficulty in breathing and is now stable."
According to The Indian Express , the baby girl was born with two small holes for her nose, an inverted eyelid and no ears.

While tests can be carried out to determine if Harlequin Ichthyosis is present, the farming family are reported as living below India's poverty line and could not afford pre-birth treatment.

Detecting the condition can usually be done in the fourth month of pregnancy, with doctors advising a termination as the kindest option.

The girl weighed 1.8kgs and is reported as being the first child of the married couple.
He said that in 1984, an infant with this disorder was born in Pakistan and the baby lived till 2008. No more information is available about that baby, according to Dr Banait, although another such birth was recorded in the USA in 1994.

He said: "There is no cure for this disorder. All that medical science can do is try to keep the baby alive."