Baby Boy Born Unable to Open His Mouth

And doctors have no fix for Wyatt Scott's rare disorder
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2014 1:40 PM CDT
Baby Boy Born Unable to Open His Mouth
   (Shutterstock)

Nine months ago, a Canadian baby was born normal in every way but one: Wyatt Scott has a disorder that keeps him from opening his jaw, the CBC reports. The condition, called congenital trismus, is so rare that his Ottawa doctors still aren't sure how to help him. "Nobody can tell us if Wyatt is going to be better in two years, five years, 10 years, or if he will be eating from a tube the rest of his life," said his mother, Amy Miville. He's already had one horrifying episode, in which he started vomiting but couldn't open his mouth to get it out.

He was rushed to the hospital, crying and choking, and lost consciousness—but luckily suffered no brain damage, the Ottawa Citizen reports. The condition comes with other problems, too, like an inability to blink, use facial muscles, or swallow, so he drools more than most other young babies. Doctors think he might have a muscle problem—CT and MRI scans have shown no signs of a fused joint or extra tissue—but anesthesiologists won't put him under so doctors can carry out a necessary muscle biopsy because Wyatt's closed mouth blocks his airways, ABC News reports. Now his parents have created a website to solicit advice from around the world, and nurses have emailed dozens of tips for raising a baby that's fed through tubes—but still, no grand solution. "Sometimes you ask yourself, why me?" said Wyatt's mom. "But then it is what it is and we’ve made do." (In other unusual pregnancy news, a woman is pregnant with another couple's twins after a mix-up.)

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