Mogammad Imaad Majiet looks just likes any other child – except for a tiny bump on his forehead which could have cost him his life.
|||Cape Town - Seventeen-month-old Mogammad Imaad Majiet looks just likes any other child – except perhaps for a tiny bump on his forehead which may appear insignificant, but which could have cost the toddler his life if it had not been addressed.
Born with trigonocephaly – the premature closure of the metopic, or forehead, suture between the frontal bones – Mogammad is among about one in every 10 000 children born annually with the condition. Red Cross Children’s Hospital performs surgery on about 30 affected children annually.
The surgery took place last week at Red Cross as part of Smile Foundation/Adcock Ingram Smile Week. The foundation arranges operations for children with facial anomalies, including cleft lips and palates, and ear and nose reconstruction.
About 19 children from the Western Cape, aged one to 12, benefited from operations at Red Cross last week.
Paediatric neurosurgeon
Dr Llewellyn Padayachy explained that in children born with trigonocephaly, as they grew the deformity became more prominent, increasing the risk of pressure on the brain.
Symptoms include headaches, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness, and can result in death if untreated.
Mogammad, of Manenberg, had already suffered three seizures confined to the left side of his body by the time of his surgery, his mother Roshaan Booley explained.
“When Mogammad was born they noticed the condition and asked me if I knew about a family history of the condition. I didn’t know what to think until the doctors explained it to me,” she said.
“I thought it would be fine, but then he had a fit in the middle of the night, followed by two more. He spent days in hospitals so the doctors could monitor him. I was terrified when they said he needed urgent surgery because he was so young, but I knew his life would be in danger if nothing was done.”
Although Mogammad was booked for surgery in March last year, the expense and his good health saw it delayed – until last week when he was in the operating room for five hours, treated by a six-strong medical team which included Padayachy and plastic surgeon Reinhardt Lechtape-Gruter.
Padayachy said the surgery was difficult, but what helped was that the child was in that ideal surgery window period of between 14 and 18 months old.
“Luckily, the surgery was successful and we were able to reconstruct the skull. He spent a day in ICU and was then moved to a general ward,” he said.
Booley said although her son was in a bit of pain, she was relieved he was doing well.
“He’s talking and seems fine, but he doesn’t want me to leave his side. They haven’t told me when the bandages will come off, but I will take him home this week.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who helped my son and my family,” she said.
Weekend Argus