Surgeons have used a new technique to save the life of a toddler who was born with an extremely rare birth defect in what is thought to be a world first. Loading audio...

Conor O'Rourke, now three, was diagnosed with vein of galen malformation (VOGM) as a baby after a doctor raised concerns about the size of his head at an appointment for an unrelated issue.

The condition causes the veins and arteries in the brain to connect abnormally, increasing blood flow and leading to severe complications such as heart failure and brain damage, and death if undetected.

The toddler from Bolton is one of a rare subgroup of patients with VOGM which left him essentially untreatable.

Specialists at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool performed the novel technique, which involved open surgery de

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