A mother of one who believed a massive tumor had ended her dreams of growing her family learned she was actually pregnant — even as a 22-lb. mass was growing inside her uterus.
For years, 41-year-old nurse Suze Lopez from Bakersfield, Calif., had been living with what she thought was a large ovarian cyst. Before undergoing surgery to remove it, she went in for routine pre-op testing — and was stunned when her pregnancy test came back positive.
“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said in a statement from Cedars-Sinai. “And I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort. I could not believe that after 17 years of praying, and trying, for a second child, that I was actually pregnant.”
Just a few days after learning she was pregnant, Lopez was hit with severe abdominal pain. Imaging at Cedars-Sinai revealed just how extraordinary her case really was.
“Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,” said John Ozimek, DO, medical director of Labor and Delivery. “We then discovered a nearly full-term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus. A pregnancy this far outside the uterus that continues to develop is almost unheard of.”
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As her baby grew, he pushed the tumor forward, which helped explain why Lopez never suspected she was pregnant. “It makes sense that she just thought the tumor was getting bigger again, not that she could be pregnant,” Ozimek noted.
Lopez was diagnosed with an abdominal ectopic pregnancy — a rare situation in which the baby grows outside the uterus in the abdominal cavity. According to the National Library of Medicine, abdominal pregnancies are associated with high rates of complications and can be life-threatening for both mother and baby.
For the baby to survive and develop nearly to term in such a dangerous environment was “profound,” said gynecological oncologist Michael Manuel, MD, of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center. “In my entire career, I’ve never even heard of one making it this far into the pregnancy.”
A coordinated team of 30 specialists assembled to deliver the baby, remove the massive cyst, and protect Lopez’s life.
“As soon as the baby was delivered, Lopez started hemorrhaging badly. We were a specially trained team of obstetric anesthesiologists and well prepared, but it was still intense,” anesthesiologist Michael Sanchez, MD, said. “I had already powered up a special machine that delivers blood products fast because every second matters. We used 11 units of blood.”
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Despite the enormous risks, Suze’s baby boy, Ryu, arrived weighing 8 lbs. Doctors initially worried about how his lungs had developed, given the unusual position of the pregnancy, but he surprised everyone.
He was “feisty,” neonatalist Sara Dayanim, MD, said, and within two weeks, “Ryu quickly reached all of the important benchmarks for surviving well. He defied all the odds.”
Suze’s husband, Andrew, shared, “He is our gift. And Ryu and Suze are my miracles … many prayers have been answered.”
Reflecting on her journey, Suze said, “I appreciate every little thing. Everything. Every day is a gift and I’m never going to waste it. God gave me this baby so that he could be an example to the world that God exists — that miracles, modern-day miracles, do happen.”
