CLEVELAND (WHDH) — A multidisciplinary team of doctors and nurses performed a rare and complex surgery to remove a tumor attached to the heart of a 26-week-old fetus.
Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio performed the procedure back in May in which they partially removed the fetus from the mother’s uterus, opened up the fetus’ chest, removed the tumor, closed the fetus’ chest, and positioned the fetus back in the uterus, the medical center announced last week.
“I am very proud of our talented congenital heart surgery and fetal surgery teams that integrated seamlessly to successfully perform a complex lifesaving fetal surgery,” said Darrell Cass, M.D., director of Cleveland Clinic’s Fetal Surgery and Fetal Care Center. “This tumor was growing rapidly in the exact wrong spot. It was compressing the heart of the fetus, causing fluid accumulation, and we started seeing signs that the cardiac function was deteriorating. We needed to act quickly and decisively to rescue the fetus.”
The mother and fetus recovered with no complications and on July 13, at 36 weeks and two days, a baby boy was delivered by Cesarean section.
Both the mother and baby are said to be doing well.
A health care team will continue to monitor the baby’s heart health and check that there are no signs of tumor recurrence.
In the future, the Cleveland Clinic says the child will likely need surgery to reposition together his sternum that did not properly heal in utero.
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