Baby 'faces 18 years of surgery'

The baby faces a series of operations to rebuild her face

The child at the centre of a legal battle over her hospital treatment faces up to 18 years of surgery to correct her rare condition.

Ian Hutchison, one of Britain's leading facial surgeons, said rebuilding the baby girl's face would be "a long process, arduous for the parents and the child".

The baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was born with the rare Goldenhar Syndrome, which left her without her right eye and ear, only half a nose, and missing half her right jaw.

Parents will need to trust the surgeons

The length of the process makes the row between doctors and the parents, even more important to resolve quickly.

"This child faces 18 years of operations. The parents have got to find a surgeon that they can trust and that they can work with on a regular basis," Mr Hutchison said.

"Clearly the trust has broken down somewhere along the line."

The surgical process

Rebuilding a Goldenhar Syndrome sufferer's face will take a whole series of operations.

• At the age of three, or in severe cases even earlier, surgeons will start to stretch the jaw bone in a series of operations. This will help the child eat properly and survive.

• Aged four, the child will have plastic surgery to create an eye socket. This will be replaced over the years as the child grows.

• Rebuilding the nose, from age 7, is the hardest part of the procedure, using a combination of bone and tissue grafts and plastic surgery.

• A new plastic ear will be the last part of the surgery.

The row surrounding the baby began when doctors sought to perform a tracheotomy - a puncture to the windpipe - on the three-month-old girl to help her breathe.

Her parents threatened to remove their daughter, saying the procedure was unnecessary and dangerous.

'Maelstrom of emotions'

The 25-year-old mother, and her husband, 29, have already launched an appeal to raise £500,000 to pay for up to 20 operations to rebuild their daughter's face.

They want the operations carried out privately so the treatment can be completed more quickly - before the girl reaches school age.

Peter Aitchison, whose son David suffers from the same syndrome said the parents would experience a "maelstrom of emotions".

"They will be going through great agony and confusion, great angst.

"Are the doctors treating their daughter in the best possible way? Are they being given enough information? Why on earth did it happen to them? What could they have done wrong during pregnancy?"

The controversy recalls the legal battle that developed over the conjoined twins, Jodie and Mary in late 2000.

The High Court ruled that doctors could carry out the operation to save the stronger twin Jodie despite their parents' opposition.

Dr Richard Nicholson, editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics, said doctors could be highly proficient in their field, but be unskilled at dealing with families.

He told the BBC: "Paediatricians have to treat a whole family, not just the child."