Baby Born with Brain Seeping Through Skull Undergoes Reconstructive Surgery

With the help of surgeons from Boston Children's Hospital, a baby born missing a piece of his skull was given a second-chance at life.

During pre-natal development, his skull didn't fuse together properly and left a large triangular gap from his upper lip through the middle of his nose and forehead. With a condition known as Tessier midline facial cleft, part of Dominic Gundrum's brain had also begun to seep out of his face, forming a small ball on his skin, otherwise known as encephalocele.

No one had much hopes for Gundrum in the beginning. "They had no idea what may happen to him. It was a real no-man's land territory for all of us," Mark Gundrum said of his son in an article from FoxNews.com.

When Mark and his wife, Mary, went in at 20 weeks to find out the gender of their child, they discovered the problem that lie ahead.

Feeling hopeless, it was the family's decision to venture out to Boston Children's Hospital after discovering online that they had treated a rare encephalocele case before.

After having a natural and healthy birth, Mary Gundrum confessed that it would be difficult to see her son change after the procedure as they'd grown to love him just as he was. However, she did add according to FoxNews.com that "In the long run, it's what's best for him, but so much will change in one day. It's exciting, but there is a small bit of sorrow knowing that tomorrow this baby I've grown to love so much will look so different."

 The procedure was a daunting task, with 15 doctors and several hospital staff for many hours. With a successful completion of surgery, the Gundrum's are hopeful for the future, though the hospital staff is uncertain if Dominic will encounter more health problems down the road as he grows older.