Baby Born with Tongue Twice the Size of Her Mouth Finally Learns to Laugh After Surgery

This is so inspiring! A baby born with a tongue twice the size of her mouth can now successfully smile and laugh after a successful tongue reduction surgery.

Reports state that the little baby, Layla King, from St Louis in Missouri, USA, was first discovered to have a rare condition known as Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) during a 30-week scan while she was still in the womb.

According to reports, her rare condition is as a result of an overgrowth disorder usually present at birth, characterized by an increased risk of childhood cancer and certain congenital features. Beckwith syndrome can also cause child behavior problems.

The condition affects one in 15,000 babies and makes the tongue grow twice as quick as the mouth, as well as causing the intestines to form outside of the stomach.

When her mom, Danielle Youngburg, noticed it, she feared Layla wouldn’t survive after she was born four weeks early and needed a breathing apparatus to keep her alive before surgeons could repair a hole in Layla’s abdominal wall.

After surgery was conducted to reinsert her organs back into her body at just two days old, Layla began to slowly recover.

However, due to the size of her tongue, which was four inches, the poorly baby struggled to feed as her tongue continued to grow at an increased rate to the point where it was permanently sticking out of her mouth and putting her at risk of suffocation.

The toddler’s swollen tongue means her parents keep her inclined at night by placing a pillow under her back so she can’t choke.

When she was 6-months-old, Layla had her first tongue reduction surgery, however, when it became enlarged again she needed a second surgery.

Last month, the 13-month-old was able to smile for the first time after having a larger chunk of her tongue removed.

Danielle said: ”Typically the tongue stops growing after six months so as soon as she reached that age we went for her first surgery to make it smaller. It’s quite a graphic surgery, doctors had to cut a w-shape in order to stitch her tongue back together without it causing any lasting damage.

”We hoped that would be it but six weeks ago Layla had to have a second surgery after I realised her tongue was still growing. After three months it was like being back to square one as her bite was getting worse and her lower jaw was being forced apart again so we knew she needed another operation.

”If we didn’t there was a serious risk of her having a deformed jawline because it was growing to accommodate her large tongue. Now thankfully she is on the mend and can smile now for the first time without her tongue popping out of her mouth.”

The second surgery was a success meaning that Layla will be able to eat, breathe and smile properly for the first time since she was born.

Tricia Surles, Co-Manager of support group How Big BWS, said: ‘Beckwith-Wiedmann Syndrome is a genetic overgrowth syndrome.

”Symptoms vary but often include high blood sugar at birth, macroglossia (enlarged tongue), enlarged abdominal organs and/or abdominal defects like umbilical hernia or omphalocele.

”Approximately 90% of children have an enlarged tongue that can lead to moderate to severe breathing, feeding and speech problems.”