Baby born 'inside out' with stomach, bowel and liver outside of her body

A baby girl was left needing life-saving heart surgery after she was born with her organs on the outside of her tiny body.

Nell Marshall, the only survivor of triplets, was born with her stomach, bowel and liver outside of her body inside a bag of skin.

The brave tot now faces a major operation in six weeks time to put the organs back where they should be.

Mum Joanne Marshall, 35, told The Chronicle: “Even though she has been through so much, she’s never given up.”

Nell was diagnosed with exomphalos prior to her birth on March 4 last year.

The condition occurred because Nell’s abdomen did not develop fully in the womb, meaning her she was born with some of her organs on the outside of her body.

A heart scan carried out five days later revealed some shocking news for the family.

Joanne, said: “The cardiologist told us they had found something that he’d never before seen in his 30 years of working. They had discovered a hole between the vessels that come out of the heart.

“We were then told the condition was not survivable and that, as things got worse, she would struggle to breathe.”

Nell was moved from Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary to the city’s Freeman Hospitaland surgeons told the family, including dad Andrew, 45, that they were trying to delay an operation as long as possible so that their daughter could grow and get stronger.

But Nell’s condition was deteriorating by the day and medics on the Children’s Heart Unit were left with no choice but to perform the five-and-a-half hour operation.

“That was the longest day of our lives,” recalls Joanne, of Hexham, Northumberland.

Surgeons used a patch of pig skin to fix the hole and Nell spent the next seven days recovering in intensive care.

Joanne said: “Even though we were panicking, Nell was just taking everything in her stride.”

Transferred back to the RVI, the baby spent the next three months in hospital. The surgery had left Nell with vocal cord paralysis, making it difficult for her to swallow or feed properly.

Today Nell, along with sisters, Iris, three, and Amy, 12, and brother James, eight, is doing well.

Joanne added: “She has just had her first birthday and, considering everything she’s been through, she has proven herself a real trooper.”

Nell faces further surgery in about six weeks time to place her organs back inside her body, which is now big enough to accommodate them.

Joanne said: “She’s still smiling. She is very placid and enjoys shuffling about on her bottom at the minute.”The family say they are eternally grateful to staff on the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital who have supported them throughout the past 12 months.

Last weekend, Nell was picked, along with her family, by the Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF) to be VIP guests a Newcastle Eagles’ basketball match.

“The Unit is amazing,” added Joanne. “We will never be able to thank them enough.”