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'My brave little devil'

Boy (5) endures horn implants - on doctor's orders

George Ashman, 5, was born with a bright red blemish on his forehead.

His mother Karen, 33, feared he would endure a lifetime of bullying.

So when he was four he underwent a surgical procedure to stretch the 'normal' skin on his forehead so the birthmark could be removed and covered with the new unblemished tissue.

Doctors inserted two tissue expanders under the skin, which gradually inflated so they looked like two perfect devil's horns.

After four months the implants were removed and the blemish was cut out, allowing the new skin to be stitched together - leaving just a small Harry Potter-style scar on George's forehead.

His mom said: 'When I first saw the implants in place, I was speechless.

'They were larger than I expected - and placed on either side of his tiny head looked like horns.

'My cute, angel-faced baby looked like the devil.

'But I'm really proud of the strength he has shown through all of this. He has never let it hold him back.'

He got taunted by people they encountered, but George went under the knife in April this year to remove the birthmark and have his 'new' skin stretched across in its place. He has only a small scar where the blemish used to be and has now started school with his friends.

Says his mom: 'My little devil's got guts - and with or without his birthmark and his horns I'll always love him to bits for that'.

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