A baby suffering from a severe form of epilepsy will undergo brain surgery in a bid to stop his seizures, after the Supreme Court ruled it was in the child’s best interests.

The boy, known as “baby K”, was born with a brain abnormality that causes him to have frequent and serious convulsions.

The boy was in Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Credit:Christopher Frederick Jone

He has had alternative treatments including cannabis oil and a ketogenic diet, as well as conventional medical treatments such as anticonvulsive drugs, some of which have had serious side-effects and effectively sedated him.

The child’s social worker told the court he had also received traditional remedies from his parents’ home country, including treatment with holy water, prayers by a monk and traditional ceremonies in which smoke has been administered to him at the parents’ request.