Welcoming 1.7kg baby boy born to mother with malignant tumor

On the morning of August 22, Gia Dinh People's Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City announced that it had just performed a particularly successful surgery. Doctors performed a cesarean section to deliver a baby at 32 weeks of pregnancy and removed a section of the pregnant woman's colon that had a malignant tumor.

The pregnant woman is Ms. VHM (34 years old, living in Thong Tay Hoi ward, Ho Chi Minh City). The baby boy weighing 1.7 kg was born safely, crying loudly after coming out of his mother's womb, while Ms. M. also overcame the challenging major surgery.

On July 12, when she was 26-27 weeks pregnant, Ms. M. was admitted to Gia Dinh People's Hospital because of bloody mucus in her stool.

Doctors discovered that Ms. M. had a large tumor causing narrowing of the colon, and the biopsy results confirmed the lesion was malignant. The bad news devastated Ms. M., but with the explanations and reassurance from the doctors and her family, Ms. M. regained her confidence to continue her journey to keep her child.

Gastroenterologists consulted with obstetricians and neonatal pathologists to agree on the optimal treatment plan, ensuring both the safety of the mother and the chance of survival for the fetus.

The proposed plan is to maintain the pregnancy until 32 - 34 weeks if the mother has no signs of intestinal obstruction. In case of intestinal obstruction complications, emergency surgery must be performed to save the mother.

During the monitoring process, doctors pay special attention to the risk of intestinal obstruction, bleeding, exhaustion and metastasis in the mother, and monitor the health of the fetus through ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound, fetal heart monitoring, and instruct pregnant women to monitor fetal movements.

At the same time, doctors plan to use corticosteroids to help the fetus mature its lungs and magnesium sulfate to protect the brain before the cesarean section.

At the 32nd week of pregnancy, the surgical team performed a cesarean section combined with a colon resection. The intense surgery lasted nearly 2 hours, and the doctors removed a 10cm long damaged colon segment containing the tumor from Ms. M.'s body.

One week after surgery, Ms. M. recovered well and was discharged from the hospital, continuing to follow the cancer treatment regimen.

The premature baby boy is currently receiving special care in the neonatal intensive care unit. He has stopped receiving oxygen, has started breastfeeding, and is preparing to be discharged to his mother in the coming days.

Ms. M. emotionally shared: "The moment I heard my child's first cry, I felt like I was given more strength. I knew I had a baby who needed a mother, so I would try my best to fight the disease. I am truly grateful to the doctors and nurses who saved both mother and child. Now I will be stronger to live and raise my child."