My baby was born twice... but that's why she's alive today

When Brailey and Louis Valenzuela learned they were expecting their 2nd child, a babe girl, they were overjoyed. 

They picked retired a sanction – Arley – and enjoyed an 'easy pregnancy' for astir six months.

However, an ultrasound astatine 24 weeks revealed a perchance deadly complication: babe Arley had an olive-sized tumor connected her bosom known arsenic pericardial teratoma.

They were informed the tumor would termination her if near untreated, increasing truthful large it would crush her bosom nether its weight.

Delivering Arley astatine that constituent would hazard her life. At 24 weeks, her organs were inactive developing, and her likelihood of surviving extracurricular the womb were low, truthful the Tennessee parent was referred to a squad of specialists successful Pennsylvania who person pioneered a process that allows them to run connected the baby while it is inactive wrong her mother to region the wide connected her heart.

During country to region the mass, doctors chopped into the mother's tummy and partially pulled Arley from her mother’s uterus , arms-first, truthful that her thorax was exposed. 

They ever effort to support arsenic overmuch of the babe wrong the parent arsenic imaginable to support the protective situation that the uterus provides.

With the babe successful that position, they were capable to marque an incision successful her chest.

Then, they removed the tumor located wrong the membrane surrounding the heart.

After the surgery, some parent and fetus are monitored intimately for signs of betterment and to observe immoderate imaginable complications.

Mrs Valenzuela told Today.com that she was successful the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), wherever doctors removed the tumor, for astir 2 months until her girl was calved steadfast and happy. 

Pericardial teratoma successful fetuses is deadly. A third of cases result successful the decease of the fetus. 

The information is rare, occurring successful astir 0.07 to 2.8 successful 1,000 pregnancies. From 2000-2020, lone 55 fetal pericardial teratomas were reported worldwide.

CHOP has performed the process to region it successful utero connected 4 babies. Exact statistic connected the fig performed annually successful the US are hard to pinpoint. 

They're truthful uncommon and typically performed astatine centers with doctors with fetal country expertise, which makes tracking the nonstop fig of procedures performed each twelvemonth difficult. 

All told, the process took astir an hour. It was a squad effort, including specialists from cardiology, fetal surgery, maternal-fetal medicine, cardiovascular surgery, anesthesiology, neonatology, and science arsenic good arsenic a peculiar cohort of fetal nurses. 

Brailey Valenzuela, 32, did not fishy thing was amiss with her pregnancy. She and her hubby were excited to conscionable their 2nd daughter.

But the 24-week ultrasound changed everything.

Doctors astatine Covenant Health’s Fort Sanders Perinatal Center successful Knoxville confirmed that determination was a tumor connected their daughter’s heart.

Mrs Valenzuela said: ‘We were told aggregate times the outlook is grim and if you don’t bash thing soon — successful a substance of days — the babe could die.’

A cardiologist successful Tennessee sent Mrs Valenzuela’s aesculapian records to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, wherever doctors often dainty analyzable and life-threatening pregnancies.

‘It was truthful fast,” Brailey Valenzuela said.

‘They said, “The physicians person looked implicit your file, and they deliberation they tin assistance you.” It was a immense relief.”

When they arrived successful Philadelphia successful December 2023, doctors had to enactment quickly, conducting a artillery of tests, including further ultrasounds.

Within 12 hours, Mrs Valenzuela was successful surgery.

Dr Jack Rychik, 1 of the doctors progressive successful Brailey Valenzuela’s surgery, said fetal tumors similar this 1 are ‘quite rare.’

He said: ‘It is simply a tumor that is increasing wildly due to the fact that precise very young cells … are misbehaving. [They] could person turned into antithetic organs but stay immature and determine to turn connected their own.

‘The interest astir the pericardial teratoma is that it is increasing rapidly and uncontrollably successful a abstraction that’s precise confined.’

The doctors partially removed Arley from her mother’s womb by piercing the amniotic sac, but ne'er birthed her completely, meaning she was ne'er exposed to aerial and protected chiefly by the fluid there. Surgeons accidental 1 of their main objectives, isolated from removing the tumor, is disturbing the surrounding tissues arsenic small arsenic possible.

Doctors utilized specialized devices to support levels of amniotic fluid successful the uterus stable, minimizing the hazard of the uterus oregon placenta ‘sensing’ the surgery.

The assemblage mightiness people induce labour successful effect to disruptions, but these devices, on with anesthesia techniques, assistance forestall contractions, labor, oregon changes successful humor travel by ensuring the uterus maintains its signifier and fluid levels during the procedure.

Without intervening erstwhile they did, the wide connected Arley’s bosom could person grown truthful large, possibly 2 to 4 times bigger than the heart, and pressed against it, preventing it from filling with blood.

Dr Rychik said: ‘You cannot past with the bosom not being capable to fill. So that’s what makes these tumors lethal.’

Arley weighed conscionable 1.8 pounds portion this was happening.

As they removed the tumor, surgeons saw that it was somewhat attached to the aorta, the largest artery successful the assemblage that carries oxygen-rich humor from the bosom to the remainder of the body.

After removing the tumor and repairing the teardrop near connected the aorta, doctors stitched Arley backmost up, returned her to her mother’s uterus, and closed Brailey’s abdomen.

When she awoke, Mrs Valenzuela searched for her hubby and pointed groggily to her belly arsenic if to inquire whether Arley survived.

She said: ‘I retrieve him saying, “The babe is fine. The babe is fine.” That’s each I needed to perceive … it was a immense blessing.’

Within a substance of days, Arley’s bosom began to relation normally. All the while, Mrs Valenzuela stayed successful Philadelphia, wherever she was nether strict monitoring until she gave birth. When, connected February 17, 2024, she began experiencing terrible abdominal pain, doctors discovered her uterine lining was precise thin.

To forestall a rupture, they delivered Arley via c-section astatine 35 weeks, which is considered pre-term.

Mrs Valenzuela said: ‘Her bosom was great. It’s functioning similar immoderate different baby.’

Arley precocious saw her section cardiologist and is doing truthful good that she doesn’t request to instrumentality for different year.

‘She’s doing great,’ Mrs Valenzuela said.

‘I anticipation radical tin person anticipation erstwhile they work Arley’s story.’