HOUSTON – Early in her pregnancy, Margaret Boemer got some scary news about her baby.
“At 16 weeks, I found out that our baby had Sacrococcygeal Teratoma,” Boemer said.
Surgeon Darrell Cass at Texas Children’s Hospital said when babies are born with "SCT" it is almost always fixable, but when they see it on a developing fetus, there are fewer successes.
So, when Boemer's checkup revealed baby Lynleee was going into heart failure, she had no option but to try fetal surgery.
“We knew that if we didn't choose the option of emergency surgery that night, that within a day or so she would pass,” Boemer said.
During the surgery, video shared with KPRC from Wally Crow, shows Dr. Olutoye remove Lynlee and remove the tumor from her spine.
“Her heart stopped and she had to have blood but they were able to remove most of the tumor and place her back in,” Boemer said.
Once back into her mother's womb, blood flow from mom to baby encouraged growth, healing and a healthy delivery at 36 weeks.
“It was her second birth, basically,” Boemer said. “It was a relief to finally see her and see that she had made it through all the difficulty that she had and with her heart… after the open fetal surgery her heart had time to heal while I was still pregnant with her so she has no heart issues now and is just doing amazing.”
Thursday, Lynlee will be 4 months old.
Since she was born June 6, she's had her tailbone removed to try and prevent regrowth of the tumor. It’s unclear right now how that will impact her development as far as sitting or being on her back for a long time but the Boemers say they're willing to work through any issues because they are just happy she is alive.
