A woman whose ovarian cancer has been diagnosed during pregnancyunderwent an exceptional five -hour operation. She removed the uterus – even with a child who was still in it – and a few months later she gave birth. Only a 10-week Rafferty Isaac is already for his parents Lucy (32) and Adam (42) by a miracle because was born twice, writes
A rarity surgery was performed by doctors at John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford at the 20th week. The woman temporarily removed the uterus – with a baby inside – to safely remove cancer cells. After the intervention Lucy returned the uterus and four months was “again born” Rafferty, which weighed nearly three kilograms.
Lucy discovered cancer during a normal ultrasound examination when she was at the 12th week of pregnancy. Doctors warned her that postponing treatment until childbirth could allow the disease to spread and her pregnancy was not yet so far to perform a standard surgery.
Dr. Soleymani Majd and his team therefore They proposed a bold alternative: temporarily remove the uterus in which the child is still developing to get to the tumors on both ovaries and treat them.
This procedure was associated with a significant risk and has only tried several times worldwide. This operation was the fourth such performance of Dr. Majda over the past 10 years and by far the most complex. Cancer was in the second stage, which means that it has spread outside the ovaries. A 15-member team, including three anesthesiologists and five sisters, participated in the operation.
Lucy’s uterus remained connected to the uterine artery, oviduct and cervix to maintain blood flow and oxygen supply for the fetus. It was carefully packed in a warm sterile saline, which was monitored and changed every 20 minutes to keep the boy’s temperature. Overall, the uterus remained out of the body for two hours – twice as long as with all similar interventions that the doctor had previously performed.
