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A baby born with a “shell” growth on his back due to a rare skin condition was nicknamed “little ninja turtle” by his parents.
Eighteen-month-old James McCallum of Clearwater, Florida, suffers from a congenital melanocytic nevus, which causes an abnormally dark, benign skin patch.
It covered 75 percent of his back when he was born, but was growing rapidly and by the age of two months had become “thicker and knobbyer” and “like a tortoise shell.”
The child has had two major surgeries to remove it and is now getting skin expanders to encourage his normal skin to grow over the damaged area.
James McCallum, now 18 months old, was born with a growth on his back that made him look like a ‘little ninja turtle’. The boy from Clearwater, Florida, was diagnosed with congenital melanocytic nevus
James is pictured above with parents Kaitlyn, 35, and Tim, 41. He has been scratching his back a lot at home due to the condition
Congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN) is a condition that affects about one percent of babies born in the US. But larger growths are much less common, affecting about one in 50,000 births.
It is caused by the deficient development of pigment cells during the first trimester of pregnancy, leading to a benign tumor-like deformity on the back.
If left untreated, growths on the back can also affect the brain and spinal cord, leading to seizures. They also increase the risk of skin cancer.
CMN normally measures less than 1.5 cm, but in James’ case it covered about 75 percent of his back.
Kaitlyn McCallum, 35, gave birth to her son on August 19, 2021 at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, where he weighed 6 pounds 4 oz. This was when doctors first noticed the condition, which had not been picked up by ultrasound.
She said, “It was a little concerning because it seemed like something was wrong.
“Before it was removed, it had grown rapidly and become like a tortoise shell on its back.
“It got to the point where we had to put him to sleep on his side because he couldn’t lay his head flat because it was so bulky.
“It covered 75 percent of his back at first and it started to get fatter and lumpier — it looked like it was growing.”
She added: “It kind of looked like a birthmark, but it had some scabs on it – it was a bit concerning because it looked like something was wrong.
“The doctors didn’t really know what it was at the time.”
He has had two major surgeries to have the growth removed. Doctors are now using expanders to encourage his skin to replace the nevus
Initially, the growth meant that he had to be put to sleep on his side. But thanks to the operation, he can now sleep on his back for the first time
His parents said that not only did their son have trouble sleeping, but he would also repeatedly scratch his back at home because the growth was itchy.
They were also told that the growth had no sweat glands, limiting how long their son could spend outside to avoid the risk of overheating.
After his diagnosis by a pediatric dermatologist, James was sent for an MRI scan to check if the mass had grown internally and disrupted his brain and spinal cord.
However, the results of this scan gave everything clear, which led doctors to proceed with two major surgeries to get rid of the mass.
He had his first when he was six months old and the second three months later.
Ms McCallum said: ‘He had to have an MRI of the brain and spine because one of the sub-disorders is internal growth of the brain or spine.
“So when he was two and a half months old, he had to go under anesthesia to have it done.
“We were lucky enough to get the results back that there was nothing wrong.”
Speaking of the surgery, she added: “We were very happy with the results.
“He could lay his head flat and he seemed a lot more comfortable.
“They tested the removed skin and they came back negative for disease, which was amazing.”
Doctors expect the boy to be fully cured by his second birthday in August. He is pictured above at a local playground
The growth on its back is shown above. It took doctors two months to diagnose the condition
James is now getting skin expanders to help replace the nevus with other skin on his back and prevent it from growing back.
This involves placing two balloon-like structures in his back that will be injected with fluid once a week.
These then gradually expand, causing his skin to stretch and grow.
He received treatment at a hospital in Chicago, where his parents traveled. Once a week they inject the saline into the balloons.
He is expected to need the expanders until the end of this month.
Ms McCallum added: ‘We can now put nurse on our CV.
“It was wonderfully seamless and convenient.
“James was young enough not to know what was going on and he wasn’t too bothered by what was going on.
“In the beginning you think ‘how the hell can I do this to my own child?’ but when you get used to it, you’re like, “Thank God I don’t have to go to Chicago for three months.”
His condition is expected to be fully cured by his second birthday in August, his parents said.
Mrs McCallum said: ‘The doctor told us once it’s removed, it’s gone. He will only have scars that will be minimal.
“This condition is common on the face and we felt lucky he only had it on his back.
“If this is removed, he will have the best quality of life. He’ll be able to tell a cool story about it and say it’s a shark bite or something.
“We will certainly take the terror of having to deal with this every day.”
“We started that process in September 2022 and based on what they’ve told us, they think they can get it sorted out before his 2nd birthday in August.”
Florida boy nicknamed ‘ninja turtle’ by his parents after being born with a ‘shell’ on his back