Surgeons use new technique to save life of little boy with rare condition

Conor O’Rourke and his mother Lucy with some of the team from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool (Alder Hey/PA) - (Alder Hey)

Surgeons have used a new technique to save the life of a toddler who was born with an extremely rare birth defect in what is thought to be a world first.

Conor O’Rourke, now three, was diagnosed with vein of galen malformation (VOGM) as a baby after a doctor raised concerns about the size of his head at an appointment for an unrelated issue.