
When Vanellope Hope Wilkins’ parents first saw her as a foetus in her nine-week scan, they were confused by the unusual growth attached to her tiny developing body.
Dad Dean Wilkins says: “It looked like a little hamster with a hat on. But it wasn’t. It was her heart.”
The baby’s breast bone had failed to develop normally, causing her heart and part of her stomach to grow on the outside. The condition, called ectopia cordis, is so rare even the specialist doctor had to google it.
Children’s heart consultant Dr Frances Bu’Lock says: “There is little information available.
“I’d seen one [case] in foetal life around 20 years ago, but that pregnancy was ended. I did a quick Google search, as everyone does, and then more of a literature search.