Life-changing surgery for PNG toddler

21 Aug 2012, 3:57 pm   -   Source: Gareth Boreham, SBS
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A Papua New Guinean boy will return home to a brighter future, after Australian surgeons removed a football-sized tumour from his brain.

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A Papua New Guinean boy will return home to a brighter future, after Australian surgeons removed a football-sized tumour from his brain.

Ivan-Joe Leo, who is just 20 months old, faced severe neurological and physical impairment before the delicate operation.

The boy's mother, Joselyne Sari, said through tears that the eight-hour operation will be life-changing for the whole family. "Some small kids they say when I carry him around... look at the baby, he has got two heads."

"It was like a miracle after the surgery."

When the Children First Foundation flew Ivan-Joe to Australia from Papua New Guinea in February, a lump on his scalp had ballooned to the size of a football.

The deformity is believed to have been caused by a fractured skull sustained during his premature birth.
 
Surgeons are confident the playful toddler is well on the way to catching up for any delayed development.

WATCH the report via YouTube:

Papua New Guinea

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