LITTLE Latisha McMillan has been “to hell and back” during the first 18 months of her life.

Born with a rare condition which meant she had no soft spots in her skull, she faced a life of facial deformity, pressure on the brain and possible learning difficulties.

Health visitors first noticed a problem when Latisha was eight-months-old. They spotted something wasn’t quite right with the shape of her head and referred her to Oxford’s Children’s Hospital.

Initially her parents Louisa, 27, and Dave, 48, were told there was nothing wrong, and her head was expected to form properly as she grew.

But at an eye test, the doctor, who was also part of the John Radcliffe Hospital’s craniofacial team, spotted Latisha’s misshapen forehead and realised it was something more serious.

A CT scan revealed Latisha had a condition called unicoronal synostosis, which means the skull bones had fused together before birth.

Babies are usually born with soft spots, known as fontanelles, which eventually close as the baby’s head grows and bones meet.

Earlier this month surgeons cut open Latisha’s head to remove bone from her skull. They also reshaped her forehead.

Mrs McMillan, of Hemingway Drive, Bicester, said: “She’s been to hell and back, but I could notice an improvement straight after the operation.

“Obviously she’s had pain, but she has been absolutely fantastic and because of her age she won’t remember it.

“It’s one thing I won’t forget in a hurry, but she’s coping really well.”

Mrs McMillan added: “The operation took four hours, but has created room for the skull to grow.

“It’s quite risky surgery. At first we said we would not let her have the surgery, but when the consequences were explained to us, we said she has got to have it done.

“If she had not had the surgery the left side of her skull would not have grown or would have grown at a slower rate.

“In the long run it could cause her to have disabilities and she would have been very slow, her face would have gone crooked and it would have put pressure on her brain as well.

“No matter how scary it was, the thought of what might happen in the future was worse. We wanted what was best for her.”

Latisha had the operation on March 7 and was in hospital for six days.