She extracted a child from her mother's womb... to save her life. Then he put it back in his place.
Sounds like a science fiction movie.
And instead it is one of the most extraordinary operations ever carried out in the history of fetal surgery.
In 2016, a future mother received a devastating diagnosis when she was only 23 weeks pregnant.
The child carrying in her lap, Lynlee Hope, had developed a rare sacrococcigean teratoma, a tumor growing at the base of the spine and seriously jeopardizing her survival.
The time available was about to expire.
It was then that Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, a specialist in fetal medicine.
Together with his team he made a decision that few would have the courage to make.
Perform a very delicate intervention directly on the fetus.
During the operation, doctors partially extracted the child from the uterus, keeping the head and part of the chest inside so that the umbilical cord would continue to provide oxygen and nourishment.
With extreme precision they removed the tumor.
Then they filled the baby in the womb.
Pregnancy could continue.
Twelve weeks later, Lynlee Hope came to the world.
The surgery worked.
That little girl, who seemed to have very little chance to survive, was born in good condition.
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, formed in Nigeria and later established in the United States, is today considered one of the world's leading prenatal surgery experts.
His story recalls how far the medicine can go when knowledge, technology and courage work together.
Because sometimes saving a life means doing something that until a few years earlier seemed simply impossible.
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