Teamwork Saves Baby's Life

In early June, a team of physicians at Le Bonheur Children's saved a baby that had a slim chance of surviving birth. The quick thinking and team work of the cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and a perinatologist offered a viable solution to the child who had large mass on the atrium of the heart and built up fluid in the pericardium.

All previous ultrasounds suggested that the baby was healthy, but at 31 weeks the mother was experiencing contractions. The mother’s obstetrician sent her to the Regional Medical Center’s high risk birthing unit, where physicians consulted with experts at Le Bonheur.

“The ultrasound detected a mass that was compressing the baby’s heart and restricting the inflow of blood into the heart,” said Dr. Thomas Chin, co-director of Le Bonheur’s Heart Institute and associate professor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC).

The team of doctors collaborated to devise a plan that would allow the baby to survive delivery. First, a fetal intervention would be performed to remove the fluid surrounding the baby’s heart. “With a very thin needle, we entered the uterus of the mom,” said Dr. Giancarlo Mari, director of Le Bonheur’s Maternal Fetal Medicine program and professor, UTHSC, “We had to go inside the chest of the baby with this needle to remove the fluid that surrounded the heart.”

“Everyone was surprised that I was so calm before the surgery,” said the baby’s mother, Cristie Gibson. “I just knew he would be OK. I knew God wouldn’t take away my little blessing.” Once the fluid was removed to allow the baby to breathe after delivery, doctors performed a Cesarean-section. The fetal intervention worked, and the baby was successfully delivered, weighing just 4 pounds. The doctors were still concerned about the mass in the baby’s chest that needed to be removed in order for him to survive.

“The timing was critical,” said Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, co-director of Le Bonheur Heart Institute and professor, UTHSC. “When the baby was born, he couldn’t breathe well. We stabilized him and took him to surgery to remove the tumor.”

The surgery was successful, and now he is doing amazingly well, weeks after birth. “I know this baby was born for a reason,” said Gibson.

“Team work is important,” said Knott-Craig. “We have a team of people here at Le Bonheur that work together to ensure children have a fair chance at a normal life.”

This summer, Le Bonheur Children’s opened a maternal fetal medicine clinic to address the needs of pregnant mothers and their babies. Led by Dr. Mari, the program connects mothers to the team of pediatric sub-specialists who will perform fetal interventions or address the child’s needs after birth. Chin, Knott-Craig and Mari all practice with UT Medical Group, Inc.

Posted: July 1, 2009 For more information please contact: Marketing and Communications , 901.287.6030