Boy arrives in Australia for brain op

A nine-year-old boy arrived in Australia today as he prepares for revolutionary surgery to remove a brain tumour which causes daily epileptic seizures.

Sebastian Selo of New Malden, Surrey, who suffers from hypothalamic hartoma (HH), is set to have a five-hour operation at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne on June 19.

Surgeons at the hospital are thought to be the only ones in the world with the expertise to remove the plum-shaped tumour buried deep in the part of his brain which controls his sleep, appetite, emotions and behaviour.

It triggers daily seizures and has left Sebastian speechless and walking with a limp. He was nine-months-old when HH was diagnosed.

He arrived in Melbourne today with his parents Louie and Anna who see the £17,000 surgery as their ‘‘best chance’’ to give him a better life.

‘‘We know that it is a risk, we know what the risks are,’’ Mr Selo said.

‘‘We’re fully aware and that’s why we have spent a year considering whether it’s the right thing to do. We’re convinced that this is the best chance to give him an improved quality of life.

‘‘It’s a tough decision to take a child who’s never travelled on a plane before, who is autistic in his behaviour, who needs his comfort zone, to take him across the world.’’

Sebastian will undergo intensive tests over the next week. He is expected to remain in hospital for observation for another four weeks after surgery before returning home.

The Selos hope the operation will free Sebastian of his seizures but know that he will never be an independent child.

Any success would also help relieve some of the pressure from the rest of the family, including Sebastian’s twin sister Monica, who have to cope with his condition.

Mrs Selo said: ‘‘It would be the ultimate happiness for us not to see him in pain and struggling and to see him much happier than he is, so it would seem like a miracle performed by the Wizard of Oz.’’