Desperately-ill tot Lily Cater could face years of surgery to survive.

Top heart surgeons at Birming-ham Children's Hospital have told Lily's parents, Michala and Paul, that she will have to undergo a series of operations as she grows.

One-year-old Lily, of Low Moor, has a rare condition called Pul-monary Artesia which means her heart and main blood vessel to the lungs have failed to develop properly.

Her parents were devastated when doctors at Leeds General Infirmary told them Lily would not live beyond the age of five and that there was no cure for her condition.

Refusing to accept that fate for their daughter they demanded a second opinion and were eventually referred to doctors at Birming-ham's world-renowned hospital.

"Lily will undergo an initial operation that will be the most complex," said Michala.

"Surgeons will operate on the malformed blood vessels around her heart to get a better blood supply to her lungs and close a large hole in her heart."

The date set for surgery is sometime next month.

Michala said: "It means Lily will be in hospital for her second birthday but what better present could she get than a new life?"

Lily will have to spend time in intensive care after the operation but Michala said the doctors had been very positive about her future.

"They have said they are 90 per cent sure that the operation will be a success," said Michala.

Once the surgery is complete Lily will continue to have regular checks ups to make sure her body is adapting as it should.

"She will then have to undergo further operations to replace the tube at the age of five, ten and when she becomes an adult," said Michala.

Lily's condition is so rare it affects only two children born in the UK each year.

It means the oxygen level in her blood is three quarters that of a healthy person and her heart has to work harder as she grows to pump oxygen around her body.

Lily has difficulty breathing, poor circulation and often turns blue - especially when she plays or gets excited.

"The doctors have said she will have 100 per cent oxygen supply post surgery," said Michala. "Levels that will give Lily a normal life."