Baby born again after coming out for surgery
UNITED STATES: When Lynlee Hope came squealing into the world this summer, a doctor proclaimed her ‘‘so cute’’ as she had her weight recorded at Texas Children’s Hospital. It was a momentous occasion.
Yet it was not strictly speaking, Lynlee’s first appearance. She had been born once before, emerging briefly into the world 23 weeks and five days after she was conceived, to allow doctors to remove a tumor growing at the base of her spine.
There were other traumas too: her heart had stopped briefly and a twin died early in the pregnancy. By the time she was born Lynlee had already been through the mill.
The first sign of trouble came in a routine scan at 16 weeks. ‘‘The doctor told us there was something seriously wrong,’’ Margaret Boemer said. Her unborn child had a rare tumour that was diverting some of the baby’s blood supply and risked causing heart failure as it grew larger.
Boemer was advised to terminate the pregnancy but at Texas Children’s Foetal Centre she was told of a surgery that might save the infant’s life.
She went into surgery after the foetus showed signs of heart failure. During the five-hour surgery the baby emerged, feet first, until all but her head was outside the womb. Her heart slowed virtually to a stop as the operation proceeded and a specialist on the surgical team intervened and got the heart beating regularly again.
A video of the procedure shows the tumour, which was nearly as large as the baby. Afterwards the uterus was sewn shut. The video shows a surgeon tucking in a foot that was stuck out.
Boemer said Lynlee would have therapy until she went to college because her foot had been pushed into an outward position in the womb by the tumour.