-Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, a Nigerian-born paediatric surgeon, and Dr Darrell Cass proposed a radical solution: open foetal surgery.
At just 23 weeks and 5 days into pregnancy, on March 20, 2016, baby LynLee Hope Boemer was losing a battle she had barely begun.
Inside her mother’s womb, a massive tumour was growing from her tailbone, draining her tiny heart and threatening both her and her mother’s lives.
A dire discovery
Her mother, Margaret Boemer, of Lewisville, Texas, had learnt the devastating news months earlier, during a routine ultrasound in early February 2016.
The diagnosis: sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare tumour that appears in roughly one in 35,000 pregnancies.
By 23 weeks, it had ballooned almost as large as the baby herself.
Doctors warned: without intervention, the baby would die.
The hard decision
At Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, a team led by Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, a Nigerian-born foetal surgeon, and Dr Darrell Cass proposed a radical solution: open foetal surgery.
They would open the womb, operate on the unborn child, and return her to continue growing.
Two patients. One heartbeat. There was no room for error.
Nigeria’s Dr. Prof. Oluyinka Olutoye cut a woman’s womb at 23 weeks old to remove a large tumour from a baby, and placed the baby back in her womb.
The baby was delivered healthy at 36 weeks.
He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.
He is a Surgeon-in-Chief. pic.twitter.com/ZEO4gfp82D
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) March 17, 2023
A heart-stopping moment
Under bright surgical lights, on March 20, 2016, Margaret was anaesthetised.
Her uterus was opened, and the lower half of the baby, no bigger than a hand, was lifted briefly into the light.
Midway through, LynLee’s heart stopped. The room froze.
The team transfused blood, massaged her heart, and fought for seconds. The pulse returned.
After five hours of surgery, 90 per cent of the tumour was gone.
Dr Olutoye gently placed the baby back inside the womb and sutured Margaret closed.
The foetus lived. So did hope.
Waiting for a miracle
Margaret was confined to bed rest. Every day was fragile. But inside her, LynLee’s heart grew stronger. Week by week, she gained weight and strength.
Twelve weeks later, on June 6, 2016, she returned: born again at 36 weeks, weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
Her cry filled the room.
“Watching her come out kicking and crying was an incredible moment,” Dr Oluyinka Olutoye recalled later.
A second surgery and a new life
Eight days later, on June 14, 2016, surgeons removed the remaining tumour tissue.
The baby recovered fully.
Today, LynLee runs, laughs, and grows – the little girl who lived twice.
READ ALSO: Brazil: Conjoined twins separated after 27-hr surgery
The story of a baby born twice entered medical history: a breathtaking fusion of science, skill, and the stubborn heartbeat of hope.
PAY ATTENTION: Reach us at info@gotta.news.
