A girl was born with a tiny ‘bruise’ on her forehead that turned into a pomegranate-sized birthmark.
Chloe Lambert, now nine, of Milton Keynes, arrived eight weeks early with a tiny ‘bruise’ on the right side of her forehead.
Although her parents Jean and Michael were initially unconcerned, the mark soon began to grow bigger every day and turned a vivid red.
Dctors reassured the couple the blemish would disappear on its own but the mark – which was bigger than a 50p coin – started to scab and attracted cruel stares from strangers.
The blemish kept growing and Chloe was accepted onto a treatment trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), which cut off blood supply to her birthmark so it shrunk and could be surgically removed.
After going under the knife three times, Chloe is now left with just a slither of a scar and is proud to have been a ‘birthmark baby’.
The youngster was rushed to intensive care after she arrived at just 32 weeks, with Mrs Lambert – who is also mother to Chloe’s younger brother Thomas – having to be treated for a retained placenta, The Mirror reported.
A retained placenta occurs when it is not expelled from the body after labour, which can cause severe bleeding.
Unable to see her baby until five hours after the birth, Mrs Lambert instantly noticed the blemish on her daughter’s forehead but was more concerned about Chloe’s health following her early arrival.
After finally being able to take Chloe home following weeks in intensive care, Mrs Lambert noticed her daughter’s blemish was growing, with dermatologists telling the new parents it was actually a birthmark and there was nothing they could do.
However, the mark soon began to ulcerate and bleed heavily every time it was accidentally knocked. It even oozed pus when a scab on the blemish came off while Chloe’s parents dressed her.
And the mark even started to weigh down Chloe’s eye, prompting children to ask if they could touch it.