Scots baby born with missing chest muscle and webbed hand diagnosed with rare syndrome
23.02.2023 - 14:57
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A Scots mum fears for her son's future after he was born with a rare condition which has left him with a missing chest muscle and a webbed hand.
Jennifer Mellin's one-year-old son, Finlay, was born in July 2021, and at first there were no concerns from doctors and he was taken home by Jennifer, her husband Christopher and eldest son Nathan.
However the couple, who live in Cambuslang, started to notice that Finlay's left side was not developing at the same rate as his right side, reports Glasgow Live.
Finlay was diagnosed with Poland Disease in August 2022, a disorder in which affected children are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body, resulting in abnormalities that can affect the chest, shoulder, arm, and hand.
It is believed that 1 in 30,000 people in the UK suffer with the condition, however, many cases go undiagnosed due to its rarity.
Jennifer said: "When Finlay was born everything seemed fine. The day after he got home from the hospital my mum came over and noticed he had a webbed hand which had been missed. We were referred to plastic surgery.
"They thought they just had to do a basic hand release. Then when I put him into the car seat I noticed that he started to scream all the time.
"As he was sitting up he was squint and I noticed that his left hand wasn't growing at the same rate as his right hand. Finlay then started to attempt crawling, however, he would just push himself up with his right arm but couldn't with his left arm.
"His chest was then starting to sink. I took all of the measurements of his hand with me to the GP. We were referred back to plastics in August 2022 and they confirmed he had Poland Syndrome."
At present, it is unclear what real impact it could have on Finlay as