Pregnancy Miracle: Baby Survives Beside Giant Ovarian Tumor

A healthy baby was delivered while a 22-pound ovarian tumor was removed in an extremely rare abdominal pregnancy, marking what physicians at Cedars-Sinai describe as a medical miracle. (). He was never expected to survive, as specialists say infants like Ryu Lopez almost never reach this stage. Yet this holiday season, the Lopez family is profoundly thankful for overcoming extraordinary odds.

Suze Lopez, a nurse living in Bakersfield, California, had been preparing to finally undergo surgery to remove a massive 22-pound ovarian cyst that had been increasing in size for years. But the mandatory pregnancy test required before the procedure produced results that completely stunned her.

Unexpected Pregnancy Discovery

“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said. “And I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort. I could not believe that after 17 years of praying, and trying, for a second child, that I was actually pregnant.”

Three days after learning she was expecting, the 41-year-old emergency room nurse shared the news with her husband, Andrew, during a date night at a Dodgers baseball game in Los Angeles. But while on the trip, she began experiencing abdominal pain, prompting them to head to Cedars-Sinai.

When they arrived, Lopez’s blood pressure was dangerously high. John Ozimek, DO, medical director of Labor and Delivery, and his team immediately began stabilizing her blood pressure and ordered an MRI, blood tests and an ultrasound.

Extremely Rare Abdominal Pregnancy Revealed

Ozimek was astonished by what the diagnostic scans showed: a very rare abdominal ectopic pregnancy.

“Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,” Ozimek said. “We then discovered a nearly full-term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus. A pregnancy this far outside the uterus that continues to develop is almost unheard of.”

As the baby grew inside her abdomen, behind the mass, he pushed the huge cyst forward. Ozimek said this made it easy for Lopez to assume that the tumor was simply enlarging, not that she could possibly be pregnant.

Understanding Abdominal Ectopic Pregnancy

In an abdominal ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, frequently on critical organs or major blood vessels. The placenta cannot grow safely in such areas, resulting in an exceptionally high risk of life-threatening maternal bleeding and fetal death.

A baby surviving this condition is exceedingly rare and often faces significant medical complications. “It was profound to see this full-term baby sitting behind a very large ovarian tumor, not in the uterus. In my entire career, I’ve never even heard of one making it this far into the pregnancy,” said gynecological oncologist Michael Manuel, MD, of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, who was called upon to remove the giant cyst.

“We had to figure out how to deliver the baby with a placenta and its blood vessels attached in the abdomen, remove the very large ovarian mass and do everything we could to save mom and this child,” Manuel said.

Coordinated Surgical Team Effort

A team of nearly 30 specialists worked together to execute an extremely coordinated delivery and surgery. Maternal-fetal medicine experts, gynecological oncologists, nurses, anesthesiologists and specially trained surgical technicians filled the operating room almost to capacity.

Manuel lifted the enormous dermoid cyst out of the way so Ozimek and his team could quickly deliver the baby and hand him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit staff. Then they immediately focused on the next urgent step.

“As soon as the baby was delivered, Lopez started hemorrhaging badly. We were a specially trained team of obstetric anesthesiologists and well prepared, but it was still intense,” said anesthesiologist Michael Sanchez, MD. “I had already powered up a special machine that delivers blood products fast because every second matters. We used 11 units of blood. ”

Cedars-Sinai is the only Level IV Maternal Care hospital in California, a recognition given for providing comprehensive care before, during and after childbirth to mothers with the highest-risk conditions.

Remarkable Outcome for Mother and Baby

“The ability to provide this level of highly trained, coordinated and multidisciplinary care for extremely high-risk patients can make a critical difference in the health of both mother and baby, as we saw in this extraordinary case of Suze and Ryu Lopez,” said Sarah J. Kilpatrick, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The medical team was thrilled that after such an unusually dangerous pregnancy, the baby the Lopez family named Ryu was born with minimal health concerns, a full head of hair and an 8-pound weight.

Sara Dayanim, MD, a neonatologist with Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, explained that one of the most urgent concerns was whether the baby’s lungs had developed properly and would function. “We were very prepared to handle any lung problems the baby might have. But he came out of anesthesia pretty quickly and he was feisty,” Dayanim said.

“The following day we were able to remove the breathing tube, and over the course of his two weeks with us, Ryu quickly reached all of the important benchmarks for surviving well. He defied all the odds.”

Nursing Support That Made All the Difference

Like her newborn, Lopez was determined and motivated to recover quickly so she could spend time in the NICU with Ryu, her husband and her teenage daughter, Kaila. She has a vivid memory of Carmen Chavez, MSN, RN, assistant manager of the Maternal-Fetal Care Unit, who supported her before and after the difficult delivery and surgery. Lopez continues to refer to her as her guardian angel.

“She checked on me so often,” Lopez said. “She sat in on the consults with doctors to make sure we understood everything I was facing at a difficult time. She even helped us tell my daughter about the pregnancy. I’m a nurse myself, but what Carmen did was above and beyond. It meant everything.” Chavez said she believed Lopez deserved the strongest support possible.

“This was an exceptionally high-risk case, and we had to plan every detail,” Chavez said. “It was all hands on deck for our nursing team. Knowing the complexities of Suze’s situation, knowing the challenges she and her baby were about to face, I wanted to stay close.”

Family’s Gratitude and Hope

Ryu’s parents believe he is the answer to many years of prayers for a second child. Andrew Lopez said this is why they chose “Jesse” for Ryu’s middle name; it translates to “gift from God.” “He is our gift. And Ryu and Suze are my miracles,” Lopez said. “They let me in the operating room, and it was tough to watch what she was going through, and amazing to see Ryu delivered. So yes, many prayers have been answered.”

“I appreciate every little thing. Everything. Every day is a gift and I’m never going to waste it,” Suze Lopez said. “God gave me this baby so that he could be an example to the world that God exists, that miracles, modern-day miracles, do happen.”

Reference:

1. ‘Miraculous Birth’ at Cedars-Sinai Delivers Family Holiday Joy( https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/miraculous-birth-at-cedars-sinai-delivers-family-holiday-joy/ )

Source-Eurekalert