In 2016, a pregnant mother from Texas went in for what she thought would be a routine ultrasound when she was 16 weeks pregnant. During the scan, doctors discovered something unusual and quickly realized the baby had a rare and dangerous condition.
The baby was diagnosed with a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare tumor that forms at the base of the tailbone. The tumor was growing very quickly and was putting the baby’s life in danger by taking blood away from the body and heart.
Doctors warned that without intervention, the baby would likely not survive. A team of surgeons decided to attempt a very rare and risky procedure to try to save the baby’s life.
When the mother was 23 weeks and 5 days pregnant, surgeons performed an operation where they partially removed the baby from the womb in order to remove most of the tumor. During the surgery, the baby’s heart stopped, but doctors were able to revive her and continue the operation.
Surgeons successfully removed about 90 percent of the tumor and then placed the baby back inside the womb. The pregnancy continued for nearly 12 more weeks after the surgery.
The baby was later born by C section at 36 weeks and weighed 5 pounds and 5 ounces. When she was just 8 days old, she underwent another surgery to remove the remaining part of the tumor.
The surgeries were successful, and the baby recovered, becoming one of the rare cases where a life saving surgery was performed before birth and the child survived.
