Open Fetal Surgery: Miracle Baby Born Twice By Mother in Texas

To give birth alone is already a feat for a mother but to give birth twice for the same baby is something beyond just an accomplishment — actually, it's a miracle. Margaret Boemer was able to surpass giving birth for her ill baby at 23 weeks and she was back in her womb after five long hours of open fetal surgery.

People reports that Margaret's daughter, LynLee, had a birth defect called Sacrococcygeal teratoma. It is a condition that strikes one in 40,000 pregnancies as a tumor develops in an infant's tailbone.

Margaret had already been in a tough journey bearing LynLee. Originally, CNN reports that Lynlee had a twin sibling but sometime along the second trimester, the little girl's twin did not make it. It best explains more why Margaret had no second thoughts in saving her daughter's life.

Even though some babies are able to grow just fine inside the womb while having the tumor, others like LynLee are at peril. Margaret's daughter started to have a weakening heart because of the rare birth defect. At 23 weeks, the tumor almost caused LynLee's death as she was having a cardiac failure, which prompted the doctors to perform the surgery immediately.

Texas Children's Fetal Center directors Dr. Darrell Cass and Oluyinka Olutoye lead the surgery. Cass said that the surgery for LynLee took only about 20 minutes but it is what Margaret's surgery that ate most of the time. The doctors had to carefully open the uterus and patch it up completely to avoid a uterine eruption.

VBAC.com notes that uterine scar rupture is a potentially serious condition for both the mother and the child. But luckily, the doctors were able to create an opening and seal it as tight as possible. "It's kind of a miracle you're able to open the uterus like that and seal it all back and the whole thing works," Cass said.

After the life-threatening surgery, LynLee is back safe in her mother's womb and stayed until she is almost 36 weeks. On June 6, LynLee was born via second C-Section. Now seven years old, LynLee is completely healthy and Margaret recalls that every pain is worth it.

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