A BABY’S life has been drastically changed for the better thanks to a photograph taken by his mum.

Leo Lyth’s unusually shaped head was causing concern for his mum Katie, when she took him to his eight week check-up at Rock Healthcare in Bury.

A doctor at the practice mentioned Leo’s head shape and Katie saw him type the word - craniosynostosis - into his computer, but he gave no mention of it so she went home to research the condition.

“Leo’s head has always been long and narrow and I noticed it when he was born but never thought anything of it, " said Katie.

“When I saw his doctor type the word in I did my research and my son’s head looked exactly the same as other babies on the internet but his doctor didn’t agree.”

Katie, who lives in Gladstone Street, Bury, with her husband James and their two-year-old daughter Jorja, took it into her own hands to contact Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, after her notion had been turned away by her doctor four times in just over a week.

She e-mailed a picture of Leo’s head to the hospital and received a response saying it looked like he had the condition, although a referral was needed from the doctor to be able to operate.

But when a referral was not forthcoming from the doctor’s surgery, nurses at Alder Hey contacted the practice instead.

“It felt like no one was listening to me, like I was hitting a brick wall and all I wanted was to be taken seriously,” added Katie.

“Children left without surgery can grow to experience pressure on the brain and in some cases it can cause learning difficulties so as a mother I was extremely concerned.”

Finally Leo, who is now 21-weeks-old, was given a referral after Katie revisited the doctor who told her he could feel a concerning ridge on his head which had not been there before.

“When we went to Alder Hey for the consultation they confirmed my thoughts that he did have saggital craniosynostosis and I felt relieved knowing that we could do something about it,” said Katie.

Leo underwent surgery on July 6 and has a scar from ear to ear where his skull was operated on.

Katie said: “I want to spread awareness of this condition as it can cause serious problems if it isn’t operated on.

“Having the operation was actually a choice we had, but I knew I didn’t want Leo to grow up with any problems and decided to go ahead with it.

“You wouldn’t ever know he’s had it, he’s happy and is just the same as he was before but now we can actually see the shape of his head has changed. It’s wider at the back and rounder whereas before it was long and narrow.

“I’m really happy I persisted and Leo had the operation.”

Sagittal craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of the suture at the top of the head which forces the head to grow long and narrow, rather than wide.

Rock Healthcare is now working with Katie to raise more awareness of the condition and a spokesman for the practice said: ""Firstly we would like to thank the family for bringing this very rare condition to the forefront of people's attention.

"We have recently met with the parents to discuss how we can help them raise awareness and are in the process of arranging an educational event which all GPs in Bury will be invited to.

"The GP who saw the patient at the initial six to eight week check up noted that the condition was a possibility and following discussions with the Paediatric Team at our local hospital, a plan of action was formed.

"Understandably the parents were extremely concerned and undertook their own research, speaking to the specialist hospital and finding out how our GP could refer to them directly.

"A referral was made to the specialist hospital and the patient reviewed which all happened within three weeks of the initial six to eight week consultation.

"The care and wellbeing of the patient and family was and always is a priority of Rock Healthcare."