A five-year-old girl whose Batman birthmark was miraculously removed from her face is going back into the operating theatre for the final surgery to tackle her scars.

Little Luna Tavares Fenner touched hearts with her courage when she underwent a series of pioneering procedures in 2022 to remove the birthmark.

Now Luna is going back into the hospital in Saint Petersburg, western Russia, to remove scars left behind by the numerous operations.

Last month, surgeons inserted special expanders under the skin of her face and head to grow extra skin for the new procedure, according to local media.

Luna's mother, Carol, said: 'They inflate like a balloon.'

Medics say the new skin will have grown in six weeks and then Luna can go back into the operating theatre for the life-changing completion of her surgery.

Her plastic surgeon Olga Filippova told local media: 'If you look at world practice, this is a record-breaking short time. Some people even need four months to do this.'

Carol said that her daughter copes with all the operations like a superhero, saying: 'After the operation, Luna had no reaction, no fever, no lack of appetite.'

She has previously told of the cruel comments people made about Luna's appearance before the op.

Carol said: 'I know Luna's going to suffer at the school. We have already had instances of children pointing at or avoiding her.

'We also receive messages like 'you should kill your daughter because she's this or she's that'.

'I was in a church with Luna one day and a child asked his mother what was wrong with her face, and the mother just turned her face away and said Luna was a demon.

'It is this kind of prejudice we are trying to fight, in real life and on social media.'

Luna was born in the U.S. state of Florida with the rare skin disorder congenital melanocytic nevus.

Luna and her family are set to remain in Russia until June, when the final stage of surgery on Luna’s face will take place.