SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA: A couple here is appealing for help from doctors and even practitioners of traditional medicine to diagnose the mysterious illness afflicting their four-month-old daughter.

Construction worker Chong Soong Seong, 36, and his wife Sow Choon Heong, 35, are at their wits' end as doctors have not been able to properly diagnose why Chong Shun Jing's left leg is deformed.

Sow said that when she was pregnant , doctors at a private clinic here as well as the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital told her that scans showed that her baby's left leg was growing abnormally.

"They told me that there was some growth from the pelvic area to the ankle," she said.

When Shun Jing was born in December, her left leg was slightly bigger than the right.

"Her left leg was sort of twisted. There were also some dark red patches and doctors have not been able to tell me what's wrong with her. Also, there are boil-like wounds and lesions on her leg," she said.

She said several tests conducted by doctors revealed that Shun Jing's leg showed symptoms of giant cavernous hemangioma, or some sort of abnormal growth.

Hemangiomas can occur in individuals of any age. The tumours frequently occur in middle-aged women.

The couple's two other children, Chiew Yee, six and Chiew Yoong four, are normal.

Sow said Shun Jing's condition has not improved since birth and that she cried incessantly. She also had to stop working to look after her sick daughter.

Those who wish to help out can contact a family friend, Goh Cheong Kooi at 012-602 0601.