Doctors discovered Madison Quartarone had a large benign brain tumour just a few days after she was born. Without surgery she would have died within weeks.
The tiny baby was taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where doctors carried out a delicate and risky procedure to starve the tumour of blood by blocking off the vessels feeding it with glue.
Madison, now eight-weeks-old, is recovering well and although not 'out of the woods yet', she was able to go home for Christmas.
Neuro-surgeon Dominic Thompson said: "Certainly, in my experience, I am not aware of anyone as young as Madison having this treatment and if successful it could be groundbreaking.
"To be born with such a large tumour is very unusual as only a small percentage of tumours present themselves in the first month of life." Her mother Charlene, who lives in Bedford, said: "We are so pleased she's home but we are very tired. She's stable at the moment and is feeding well."
Grandfather Ian Chandler is hopeful that Madison's condition will improve.
He said: "The last scans showed that the tumour had shrunk considerably so, touch wood, everything will be okay.
"It has been such a stressful time for all of us having had to deal with the possibility that we might lose her. We are all going out for a family dinner to celebrate."
