Four-year-old Atlanta boy undergoes 26 breast implant operations to treat rare illness that has seen his entire body covered in moles 

  • Four-year-old boy getting treatment after being born covered in moles 
  • Dylan Little gets breast implants on his body to help get rid of blemishes 
  • Moles cover 80 per cent of his body, with one spread across entire back 
  • WARNING: SOME READERS MAY FIND THESE IMAGES DISTRESSING 

A four-year-old boy has gotten breast implants to save his life after fears the moles covering nearly all of his body could turn into fatal cancer.

Dylan Little, from Atlanta, Georgia, was born with giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus – a rare condition affecting one in every 20,000 babies.

Moles covered 80 per cent of his body, with the largest stretching from above his ear to his bottom and others ranging from the size of a dot to half a dollar.

Four-year-old Dylan Little (pictured) has gotten breast implants to save his life after fears the moles covering nearly all of his body could turn into fatal cancer

Four-year-old Dylan Little (pictured) has gotten breast implants to save his life after fears the moles covering nearly all of his body could turn into fatal cancer

His parents Kara, 38, and Nikki, 33, started their son on surgery to have the moles removed as fears grew that the blemishes could turn into a deadly cancer.  

As part of the surgery, expanders are placed under the skin and filled with saline to stretch out the skin – similar to the process used in breast implants.

Then, after three months, the expanders are taken out and the expanded skin is used to cover areas where the nevus has been removed.

The incredibly brave four-year-old has had 26 surgeries, and as a result more than 50 per cent of the affected areas have been removed.

Dylan Little, from Atlanta, Georgia, was born with giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus – a rare condition affecting one in every 20,000 babies

Dylan Little, from Atlanta, Georgia, was born with giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus – a rare condition affecting one in every 20,000 babies

As part of the surgery, expanders are placed under the skin and filled with saline to stretch out the skin – similar to the process used in breast implants
Moles covered 80 per cent of his body, with the largest stretching from above his ear to his bottom and others ranging from the size of a dot to half a dollar

The young boy receives breast implants (left) to help treat the shocking condition that saw most of his body (right) covered in moles

Dylan's parents Kara, 38, and Nikki, 33, started their son on surgery to have the moles removed as fears grew that the blemishes could turn into a deadly cancer

Dylan's parents Kara, 38, and Nikki, 33, started their son on surgery to have the moles removed as fears grew that the blemishes could turn into a deadly cancer

Kara, an air traffic controller, said her baby boy's body had moles over about 80 per cent of it.

'His back was entirely black and bleeding, his face, arms and legs were all covered in moles,' she said.

'The largest one was from above his ears all the way down to his bottom, so it went all the way down around his shoulders, belly and entire backside.

'As well hundreds of satellites where the moles ranged from half the size of a dollar to the dot of a pen. 

'We're holding onto hope that the moles never turn on and become cancerous, but he could develop cancer at any point.

'He has surgery every three to six months, dependent on which area of the body – if it's on the lower back we wait six months, while having another surgery to work on other parts.

'His back was entirely black and bleeding, his face, arms and legs were all covered in moles,' Dylan's mother, Kara, said

'His back was entirely black and bleeding, his face, arms and legs were all covered in moles,' Dylan's mother, Kara, said

The incredibly brave four-year-old has had 26 surgeries, and as a result more than 50 per cent of the affected areas have been removed

The incredibly brave four-year-old has had 26 surgeries, and as a result more than 50 per cent of the affected areas have been removed

'They use procedure skin expanders, like for breast implants.

'They put them inside the body under the clearer sections and over three months fill them up with saline until they grow and triple in size, like a water balloon inside him.

'They then use the excess skin to cover the area of nevus that they have removed.

'We've taken off around 50%, we've gone for the delicate areas around the neck, shoulders and upper back.

Kara, an air traffic controller, said her baby boy's body had moles over about 80 per cent of it, but the treatments are helping 

Kara, an air traffic controller, said her baby boy's body had moles over about 80 per cent of it, but the treatments are helping 

'We hopefully can remove all of the areas on his back, he may eventually run out of good skin, but as long as we remove the majority of the largest area our chances of it turning cancerous are less.

'We are trying to do what's best for him, we want to give him the fullest, longest life we possibly can.

'Dylan amazes me constantly, he always has a smile on his face and feels like he owns the hospital, all the nurses know and love him.'

His parents say they have faced a lot of problems due to cruel strangers being unaware of the condition, with him once even being called a 'monster'.

To combat this, Dylan hands out informational cards explaining about his condition with a link to a Facebook page for Congenital Melanocytic Nevus.

Kara said: 'Once in a supermarket a store manager asked us to leave because one of their customers was upset about having seen our child, which was very upsetting.

His parents say they have faced a lot of problems due to cruel strangers being unaware of the condition, with him once even being called a 'monster'

His parents say they have faced a lot of problems due to cruel strangers being unaware of the condition, with him once even being called a 'monster'

Alongside the surgery to remove the nevus, Dylan (pictured) also has MRI scans twice a year to ensure his moles haven't developed into cancerous growths in his brain or spine
'The largest one was from above his ears all the way down to his bottom, so it went all the way down around his shoulders, belly and entire backside,' Dylan's mom said

Alongside the surgery to remove the nevus, Dylan (pictured) also has MRI scans twice a year to ensure his moles haven't developed into cancerous growths in his brain or spine

'But we're not going to hide, I'm not afraid to take him out at all and I don't want him to be worried or think there is something he should be ashamed of.'

Alongside the surgery to remove the nevus, Dylan also has MRI scans twice a year to ensure his moles haven't developed into cancerous growths in his brain or spine where he has melanocyte deposits.

Kara said: 'We don't know what his future holds at this point, he could have days, weeks, years or decades – which is why we are doing everything we can to keep him with us.'

Statistics regarding Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus becoming cancerous vary, with higher figures suggesting 5-10% and others as low as 1-2%.

Mark Beckwith, CEO of Nevus Outreach, said: 'Skin expanders have a lot in common with breast implants.

'The point is to place a device under the skin that can be made larger, and as a result stretches the skin so there is more of it.

Dylan's parents created a GoFundMe page to accept donations so the young boy can be treated

Dylan's parents created a GoFundMe page to accept donations so the young boy can be treated

'Then, once there is enough, they perform a second procedure to remove the expander, remove some or all of the nevus, and use the adjacent, recently expanded skin, to replace where the nevus used to be before it was removed.

'Thanks to gleanings from the Nevus Outreach International Registry, we believe the incidence [of cancer] is no higher than 5% and possibly as low as 1-2%.'

However, when the condition is found in the brain and spine, as with Dylan's case, the risk can be significantly higher.

Mark added: 'There is a related condition called 'neurocutaneous melanocytosis' (NCM) which is the presence of pigment cells in the central nervous system

'NCM can be a serious problem and results in death occasionally, because, as you can imagine, your brain is not really a good place to have a mole.

'The majority of people who have this are lucky enough that the moles in their brain don't affect their brain's function in ways that are particularly critical. However, a small number of people, usually children, are killed by this every year.'

Dylan's parents created a GoFundMe page to accept donations so the young boy can be treated.

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