An 800-gram tumor was removed immediately after birth from a baby girl born prematurely at 30 weeks' gestation. The surgery was performed over the past few weeks at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital in Rome. The baby is now in good health and is about to be discharged.
The removed mass, a sacrococcygeal teratoma, is a rare tumor that develops at the terminal part of the spine . While usually benign, it can cause serious complications for the fetus. In the little girl's case, the mass grew so rapidly that specialists performed a double surgical procedure: at the twenty-eighth week of gestation, a team coordinated by specialists from the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital at San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital performed a minimally invasive intrauterine procedure that slowed the growth of the tumor by using laser coagulation of the blood vessels that supply nutrients to the tumor.
The baby girl was then taken to the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, where her mother delivered via scheduled cesarean. After being born, the newborn—who weighed 1.9 kg before surgery—immediately underwent surgery to completely remove the approximately 800-gram teratoma . The operation, which lasted approximately three hours, also allowed for reconstruction of the sacral region. Today, the little girl is in good clinical condition: she is breathing independently, feeding by mouth, and is about to go home.
(Unioneonline)
