In a staggering testament to the rarest of human experiences, a California woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy after a pregnancy that defied all odds. The unique circumstances of the mother’s pregnancy – her baby developing outside the womb, hidden behind a basketball-sized ovarian cyst – are so unusual that her doctors plan to write about the case for a medical journal.
Suze Lopez and Her Miracle Baby, Ryu
Suze Lopez, a 41-year-old nurse from Bakersfield, California, was completely unaware that she was pregnant with her second child until just days before she gave birth. Lopez had been living with a large ovarian cyst, which she and her doctors had been monitoring since she was in her 20s. When her abdomen began to grow earlier this year, she attributed it to the growth of the cyst, rather than a baby.
A Pregnancy Hidden Behind an Ovarian Cyst
According to Dr. John Ozimek, medical director of labour and delivery at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles where baby Ryu was born, just 1 in 30,000 pregnancies occur in the abdomen instead of the uterus. The chances of such pregnancies making it to full term are “far, far less than 1 in a million,” he said, describing Lopez’s case as “really insane.”
The Discovery of the Pregnancy
The pregnancy was discovered when Lopez began experiencing increased pain and pressure in her abdomen, prompting her to decide to get the 22-pound cyst removed. A prerequisite for the CT scan was a pregnancy test due to potential radiation exposure. To Lopez’s great surprise, the test came back positive.
The Birth of Ryu
Shortly after discovering her pregnancy, Lopez sought medical help at Cedars-Sinai due to feeling unwell. It was discovered that she had dangerously high blood pressure. Further scans revealed that her uterus was empty, and that a nearly full-term fetus in an amniotic sac was nestled near her liver, a condition known as an abdominal ectopic pregnancy.
Overcoming the Odds
On August 18, baby Ryu, weighing 8 pounds, was delivered while Lopez was under full anesthesia. The massive cyst was also removed during the same surgery. Although Lopez lost nearly all of her blood, the medical team was able to stabilize her and give her transfusions.
Ryu’s Remarkable Journey
Ryu – named after a baseball player and a character from the Street Fighter video game series – has been healthy and thriving since his birth. As his first Christmas approaches, his parents describe themselves as being blessed beyond measure. “I do believe in miracles,” said Lopez, a sentiment shared by many who have heard their extraordinary story.
