Meet Suraya Brown – the little girl who is baffling doctors by refusing to grow.
The brown-eyed youngster is now 14-months-old and should weigh at least 20lb. Yet she is still the size of a newborn baby, tipping the scales at just over 7lb and a mere 19in.
Suraya has been examined by a whole team of specialists including paediatricians, nutritionists, geneticists and hormone experts.
But doctors say they still have no idea why she won’t grow – describing her condition as a “real conundrum”.
Mum Atlanta Ruzman, 24, said yesterday that her daughter was like a real-life baby doll.
She said: “The doctors haven’t got a clue what is wrong with her.
“They’ve consulted international experts about her case but her condition seems to be a complete mystery.
“She cannot sit, talk or crawl and she has to be fed through a tube to keep her alive. But she just hasn’t been putting on any weight.
“She is way behind other youngsters of her age and when they mark her growth chart they have to plot her off the graph. She is a just like a real-life doll. In fact my other daughter has a doll that is bigger than her.”
Suraya was born four weeks early weighing 2.6lb. But specialists say nine out of 10 babies born at this stage will immediately start growing and put on weight.
In Suraya’s case she stayed at her birth weight for the first eight months and has only put on a small amount over the past six.
Experts at various hospitals in London have carried out all kinds of tests on Suraya to find out what could be wrong with her. These have included checks to see whether she is suffering from some form of dwarfism.
But so far these have brought no positive results. Even being fed in hospital direct by tube failed to put on significant weight.
Her condition is in stark contrast to that of elder sister Akilah, who is two-and-a-half.
She was walking early at nine months of age and is now a big child for her age.
Atlanta, of Hayes, Middlesex, added: “Akilah is a huge child. Yet I still have to carry Suraya like a newborn baby the whole time.
“It’s very difficult because we don't know what the future holds for Suraya.
“But we are hoping the doctors will soon be able to find out and she will be able to live a normal life.” Suraya has now been admitted to
London’s renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital for three months for further tests.
Doctors will investigate a theory that her body has become resistant to its own growth hormones.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Jide Menakaya, who has known Suraya since birth, said: “She is a very interesting little baby.
“Her case is highly unusual. I have certainly never seen anything like this and I have been in paediatrics for nearly 17 years.
“A whole range of specialists have been involved in her care but she has been a real conundrum.
“The fact that she still did not grow after we put the feeding tube directly into her veins was unexpected and surprised us greatly.
“This is incredibly rare. We have run many tests but we haven’t had a firm reason as to why she is not growing.
“Now we are working on a theory but more investigations need to be carried out.”
