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Sophie's looking good
Pioneering treatment at Bedford Hospital for a baby girl whose sight was threatened by a tumour on her face
A baby girl born with a sight-threatening tumour is back to full health thanks to pioneering treatment at Bedford Hospital.
When Sophie Orton was two months old a haemangioma tumour appeared on the side of her face. If it had been left to grow it could have reached the size of a tennis ball, blinding her.
Other hospitals had wanted to wait until her sight was endangered before treating the tot, whose parents even contacted specialists abroad seeking treatment.
Dad Dr Mike Orton, 51, an occupational therapist, said: "It was so awful when Sophie developed the tumour. Coming from a medical background I know they just grow and grow and grow.
"There is no one skilled to operate on these tumours in the UK and we were worried about steroid treatment because it causes tremendous weight gain."
The family had almost given up hope of finding treatment in the UK when Dr Orton received an email from doctors in Bordeaux, France, saying that specialists at Bedford Hospital were eager to trial a new drug.
Dr Orton said: "We rang the team in Bedford and they were happy to see us straight away.
"They started her on the treatment that day. By morning the tumour had visibly shrunk and was no longer the size of a small grape." Now it has completely disappeared.
Dr Orton, pictured above with Sophie, wife Andrea and son Tom, said: "We are really happy because we didn't want Sophie to be picked on or feel funny about her looks from an early age. Now she's back to being a happy, chuckling baby again."
The Bedford team's findings have now been presented at a national conference, and as a result of the clinical trial Alder Hey and Great Ormond Street children's hospitals now prescribe the treatment for use in similar cases.
Dr Orton said: "The staff at Bedford hospital are fantastic. With all the difficulties in the NHS at the moment it is brilliant that there are still people who are happy to just get on with it.
"Not only is the hospital at the forefront of medicine, but the doctors and nurses provided a standard of care I have not found anywhere else in the UK."
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Temperature: 4 C to 7 C
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