Born with rare disease 'Lymphangioma'
Swelling in arms, legs, and other body parts due to tumor
The story of a 9-month-old baby girl from the United States, nicknamed the 'Baby Hulk,' has been shared. This child, whose arms and legs are bulging like a bodybuilder's, suffers from a condition called lymphangioma.
On the 25th (local time), foreign media including the British Daily Mail reported the story of Armani Milby, a 9-month-old girl living in Kentucky, USA. Armani was diagnosed with lymphangioma even before she was born.
Due to a benign tumor caused by lymphangioma, Armani Milby’s body is swollen. [Image source=Daily Mail]
Armani's mother, Chelsea Milby, said, "We found out about the baby's condition at 17 weeks of pregnancy," and explained, "When the baby was born by cesarean section at 33 weeks, the medical staff said her survival rate was 0%, but she was born safely." It is generally known that the survival rate for babies with lymphangioma is only up to 22%.
The medical team plans to perform surgery to reduce the size of Armani's arms and chest to normal by cutting out the malformed lymphatic vessels and preventing lymph fluid from accumulating.
Lymphangioma, which Armani suffers from, is a rare disease that occurs in the lymphatic system, part of the body's immune system. Some malformed lymphatic vessels become separated from the normal lymphatic system, causing lymph fluid to accumulate abnormally, which leads to the development of benign tumors inside the body.
Benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body and can be cured by removal, so they do not pose a significant threat to life. However, benign tumors caused by lymphangioma can cause inflammation depending on the location of occurrence, or cause swelling in the affected area, leading to bodily imbalance.
The cause of lymphangioma is still unknown. However, it is known that the main cause is the improper development of the lymphatic system during the fetal stage. This disease is reported to occur in about one in every 4,000 newborns.
If the swelling caused by lymphangioma is severe, surgery to remove the lymphatic vessels, like in Armani's case, or sclerotherapy must be performed. Sclerotherapy is a treatment that involves injecting a sclerosing agent into the blood vessels to stimulate the malformed lymphatic vessels and reduce their size.
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