A 41-year-old nurse from Bakersfield who was scheduled to have a 22-pound ovarian cyst removed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles was surprised to learn that she was also carrying a nearly full-term baby.
The operation to remove the cyst and deliver a healthy baby defied long odds — requiring 30 medical experts — but was a stunning success.
The nurse, Suze Lopez, found out she was pregnant during a routine test required before the cyst removal surgery. Three days later, she started experiencing abdominal pain and went to Cedars-Sinai to get it checked out, according to a hospital news release published this week. She got another surprise: The baby was not in her womb.
Lopez had high blood pressure and after she underwent an MRI, blood work and ultrasound, the doctors discovered that she had an ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, often pressing on organs or blood vessels.
The baby had grown inside Lopez’s abdomen and pushed the large cyst forward.
“Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,” said John Ozimek, medical director of labor and delivery, in the release. “We then discovered a nearly full-term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus. A pregnancy this far outside the uterus that continues to develop is almost unheard of.”
In an ectopic pregnancy, the placenta can’t safely grow, increasing the chances of maternal bleeding and fetal death, according to the release. It’s rare for an infant to survive in such a circumstance and if they do, usually face severe medical complications.
Doctors performing the Aug. 18 procedure said the surgery was very complicated and risky.
“It was profound to see this full-term baby sitting behind a very large ovarian tumor, not in the uterus. In my entire career, I’ve never even heard of one making it this far into the pregnancy,” said gynecological oncologist Michael Manuel of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, who helped remove the giant cyst.
“We had to figure out how to deliver the baby with a placenta and its blood vessels attached in the abdomen, remove the very large ovarian mass and do everything we could to save mom and this child,” Manuel added.
Manuel was able to lift the cyst out of the way so Ozimek and his team could deliver the baby.
Lopez started hemorrhaging soon after the baby was delivered but anesthesiologist Michael Sanchez and his team were able to power up a special machine to deliver blood quickly, according to the release.
The baby, whom the Lopezes named Ryu, was healthy, weighing about eight pounds with a full head of hair.
“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said of her pregnancy. “And I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort. I could not believe that after 17 years of praying, and trying, for a second child, that I was actually pregnant.”
Sara Dayanim, a neonatologist with Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, said the team was concerned whether his lungs had developed properly.
“We were very prepared to handle any lung problems the baby might have. But he came out of anesthesia pretty quickly and he was feisty,” Dayanim said. “The following day we were able to remove the breathing tube, and over the course of his two weeks with us, Ryu quickly reached all of the important benchmarks for surviving well. He defied all the odds.”
Ryu’s father, Andrew Lopez, said they chose “Jesse” for Ryu’s middle name because it means “gift from God.”
“He is our gift. And Ryu and Suze are my miracles,” he said. “They let me in the operating room, and it was tough to watch what she was going through, and amazing to see Ryu delivered. So yes, many prayers have been answered.”
