DHAKA: The family of a 12-year-old Bangladeshi girl who suffers from a rare condition that causes thick hair to cover her face and body have spoken out as they seek to fund surgery to give their daughter a chance at a normal life.
Bithi Akhtar suffers from Byars-Jurkiewicz syndrome and a complication known as hypertrichosis — dubbed “werewolf syndrome.”
“She has been covered with hair since she was born. We thought it would go away as she grew up,” Akhtar’s mother Beauty Begum said.
As a result of the syndrome, swollen gums cover Akhtar’s teeth, and her breasts make up almost half of her 38-kilo (84-pound) frame, leaving her unable to stand or attend school.
“We thought it was God’s wish she was born like this. But I no longer can see my kid bearing all the pain anymore,” her mother told AFP.
Only four or five people in the world are thought to have the same exact condition, the child’s doctor said. “Byars-Jurkiewicz syndrome creates facio-genital disorder and massive bilateral enlargement of breasts after puberty, which has happened to the young girl,” said Fakhrul Alam, a doctor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
Akhtar’s family are seeking to generate awareness of her plight in a bid to raise funds for treatment, with doctors saying her life could be vastly improved with surgery.
Doctors plan to carry out a breast reduction, reduce her swollen gums and give her hormone therapy to control her body hair.
Bithi Akhtar suffers from Byars-Jurkiewicz syndrome and a complication known as hypertrichosis — dubbed “werewolf syndrome.”
“She has been covered with hair since she was born. We thought it would go away as she grew up,” Akhtar’s mother Beauty Begum said.
As a result of the syndrome, swollen gums cover Akhtar’s teeth, and her breasts make up almost half of her 38-kilo (84-pound) frame, leaving her unable to stand or attend school.
“We thought it was God’s wish she was born like this. But I no longer can see my kid bearing all the pain anymore,” her mother told AFP.
Only four or five people in the world are thought to have the same exact condition, the child’s doctor said. “Byars-Jurkiewicz syndrome creates facio-genital disorder and massive bilateral enlargement of breasts after puberty, which has happened to the young girl,” said Fakhrul Alam, a doctor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
Akhtar’s family are seeking to generate awareness of her plight in a bid to raise funds for treatment, with doctors saying her life could be vastly improved with surgery.
Doctors plan to carry out a breast reduction, reduce her swollen gums and give her hormone therapy to control her body hair.
