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Adorable little Layla King is able to smile for the first time after a syndrome left her with a huge tongue.

The 13-month-old baby from St Louis in Missouri, USA, has been forced to undergo two life-changing operations after she was discovered to have Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) during a 30-week scan while she was still in the womb.

The rare condition affects one in 15,000 babies and makes the tongue grow twice as quick as the mouth, as well as causing the intestines to form outside of the stomach.

Terrified mum, Danielle Youngburg, 25, feared Layla wouldn't survive after she was born four weeks early and needed breathing apparatus to keep her alive before surgeons could repair a hole in Layla's abdominal wall.

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(Image: Caters)

(Image: Caters)

After surgery to reinsert her organs back into her body at two days old, Layla began to slowly recover.

However, due to the size of her tongue, which was four inches, the poorly baby struggled to feed.

Her tongue continued to grow at an increased rate to the point where it was permanently sticking out of her mouth and putting her at risk of suffocation.

At six-months-old, Layla had her first tongue reduction surgery, however, when it became enlarged again she needed a second surgery.

(Image: Caters)

Last month, the 13-month-old was able to smile for the first time after having a larger chunk of tongue removed.

Danielle, a bartender, said: "If she was lying on her back she could struggle to breathe and there was a risk she could have suffocated.

"Whenever she exhaled it sounded like a big dog's heavy breathing.

"We chose to go for surgery so early on because we didn't want her needing jaw surgery later in life as well as it deforming the shape of her face."

(Image: Caters)

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The successful second surgery means Layla will be able to eat, breathe and smile properly for the first time since she was born.

For more information or support visit How Big BWS at www.howbigbws.com