A “happy and cheeky” baby boy with a rare skull condition is doing well a year after becoming the first in the world to be given a new type of treatment.

One-year-old Rory Potter, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, was diagnosed with severe sagittal craniosynostosis, external – a condition where the skull fuses before birth – shortly after he was born in April last year.

He underwent surgery in September to have “super elastic” springs inserted, which gradually reshaped his skull before being removed.

His mother Jo Potter said: “You wouldn’t know what he’s been through.”

The 36-year-old described him as “happy, cheeky and full of energy”.

“He’s just like every little boy and hitting milestones and he will have a great story to tell when he’s older.”

She added that she and her husband Harry “cannot thank the team enough for the care, compassion and reassurance”.

“Not to mention their dedication to medical science to support and help children thrive.

“Throughout the process, every element was explained so well. We knew what was going to happen and how, we received amazing support from each member of the team.”

Treatment usually involves skull reshaping surgery, which takes place within the first months of life.

Over the last two decades, this has involved the use of stainless steel springs to gradually widen the gap, giving space for the brain to develop and for new bone to grow.

But now experts have developed new “super elastic” springs using a special metal called nitinol, a nickel and titanium alloy, with Rory the first patient to have them fitted.

Each spring is custom-designed to the patient and their “super elastic properties” allow them to adapt more naturally to a child’s growing skull, experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) said.

The springs were developed by experts at GOSH and University College London (UCL).

Once inserted, the springs remain in place for several weeks to months, gradually reshaping the skull before being removed.

The new technology means children can avoid longer and more invasive operations, and it should see a reduction in blood transfusion rates, experts say.

After Rory was referred to GOSH, medics thought he may benefit from the new nitinol springs, instead of the traditional steel springs, because his case was severe.

Professor Owase Jeelani, consultant neurosurgeon at GOSH, who was part of the team who developed the new springs and led the surgery, said: “Traditional stainless-steel springs are very robust, but they don’t always allow us to finetune the force on the skull.

“These new nitinol springs give us much greater flexibility and, in some cases, can prevent the need for further surgery.

“This first surgery is important progress for children with craniosynostosis and, so far, we have seen fantastic outcomes.”

Professor Silvia Schievano, who led the team of biomedical engineers at UCL, said: “This has been many years in the making, with thousands of hours of necessary research undertaken.

“It is a very proud moment to see this technology used in a child with such a positive result. It uplifts the importance of engineering research and clinical care coming together to develop new technologies for improved healthcare.”

The research work behind the operation was funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and the National Institute for Health and Care Research GOSH Biomedical Research Centre.

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