What began as a joyful moment during a routine prenatal ultrasound turned into a frightening discovery for pregnant mother Tammy Gonzalez of Miami when the image on the screen showed what looked like a translucent “bubble” above her unborn baby’s mouth. Further examination revealed that this was not a harmless artifact, but a fetal oral teratoma — a rare and potentially life‑threatening tumor that can occur in about 1 in every 100,000 pregnancies and can grow rapidly enough to jeopardize the baby’s airway or lead to fatal complications. Doctors informed Tammy that the tumor’s size and location posed significant risks to both baby and mother, and that termination of the pregnancy was medically recommended due to the poor prognosis.
Refusing to accept that her unborn daughter had no chance at life, Tammy began researching alternative options, driven by a determination to find any potential path forward. Her persistence led her to Dr. Rubén Quintero, director of the Fetal Therapy Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, a pioneer in fetal medicine. Although no surgery of this type had ever been attempted before on a teratoma in this position, Dr. Quintero and fetal surgeon Dr. Eftichia Kontopoulos agreed to try an experimental fetoscopic procedure — a delicate, minimally invasive surgery that would attempt to remove the tumor while the baby was still in the womb.
In May 2010, Tammy underwent the pioneering operation while under local anesthesia and fully awake, watching the procedure on an ultrasound screen. Surgeons made a tiny incision and inserted a miniature camera and laser‑equipped instruments into the amniotic sac. With real‑time imaging, they located the stalk connecting the tumor to the fetus’s mouth and carefully severed it. Once detached, the tumor floated away from the baby — a moment Tammy described as feeling like a huge weight had been lifted.
Because the tumor was too large to safely remove entirely through the small incision, it was left free in the amniotic fluid, where it gradually shrank as Tammy continued her pregnancy under close medical monitoring. Five months after the surgery, she delivered a healthy baby girl, Leyna Mykaella Gonzalez, weighing 8 lbs 1 oz, with only a small scar on her mouth as evidence of the earlier procedure. The baby required no immediate surgical intervention at birth and developed normally thereafter.
Leyna’s survival marked a world‑first success in fetal medicine: the first known case of a fetal oral teratoma being successfully treated in utero rather than after delivery. This case was later documented in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, expanding medical understanding of what can be achieved through fetoscopic surgery. Dr. Quintero described the procedure as an opportunity to advance prenatal treatment of severe birth anomalies, offering hope to future families facing similar diagnoses.
Today, Leyna continues to thrive as a healthy, energetic child, a living testament to what determination, medical innovation, and maternal courage can accomplish together. Tammy has called her daughter her “little miracle,” underscoring the emotional and scientific significance of the journey — not just for her family, but for fetal medicine broadly. Their story continues to inspire expectant parents and clinicians alike, illustrating how cutting‑edge surgical techniques, combined with human perseverance, can turn a seemingly impossible prognosis into a story of life and hope.
