Surgical Innovation
Tumour op in womb saves foetus
The "bubble" at the top of the picture is a tumour growing on Leyna's mouth
Surgeons removed a tumour from the mouth of a foetus — has been described as a world first procedure. The tumour was diagnosed after a scan at 17 weeks of pregnancy of a 37 year old woman named Tammy Gonzalez. It was a very rare tumour called an oral teratoma and there was little chance her daughter named Leyna (foetus) would survive. Oral teratomas are associated with cleft palate and other oral malformations in 6-20% of patients. But after the pioneering operation, baby Leyna was born five months later. In the procedure, Mrs Gonzalez was put under a local anaesthetic as a needle was pushed through the protective amniotic sac around the foetus. A laser was then used to cut the tumour from Leyna's lips. Leyna Mykaella Gonzalez was born in October 2010 weighing 8 lb 1oz. She is now a healthy 20-month-old child. The only sign of her life-saving surgery is a tiny scar on her mouth. Source: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
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