Baby girl thriving months after CHOP surgeons perform fetal heart surgery

A world-renowned team at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia performed fetal surgery to remove a tumor on the lining of an unborn baby girl's heart. Months later, she is healthy, thriving, and at home with her family.

In December 2023, Brailey and Louis Valenzuela from Tennessee went for their 24-week ultrasound and received devasting news that their unborn daughter, Arley, had a pericardial teratoma, a life-threatening tumor that develops inside the sac surrounding the heart that is typically fatal if it continues to grow and is not removed.

In an effort to save their baby girl's life, the couple took a trip to Philadelphia to meet with experts from CHOP's Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and Fetal Heart Program for a full evaluation.

Less than 24 hours later, Brailey became the fourth patient at CHOP to successfully undergo this type of fetal heart surgery.

The surgical team included lead fetal surgeon, Holly Hedrick, MD; maternal-fetal medicine specialist, Juliana Sanchez Gebb, MD; attending pediatric cardiologist and Director of CHOP's Fetal Heart Program, Jack Rychik, MD; and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Katsuhide Maeda, MD, PhD.

"Fetal surgery is a well-orchestrated dance," said Hedrick. "Every decision the team makes is informed by decades of experience."

Three months after the surgery, on Feb. 17, 2024, Arley was born via c-section in CHOP's Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit, the world's first birth facility in a pediatric hospital specifically designed for healthy mothers carrying babies with birth defects.

She spent three weeks in CHOP's Harriet and Ronald Lassin Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit before going home to Tennessee.

Today, Arley is eight months old and thriving at home with her parents and sister.

"When I went to medical school, it was unimaginable that we'd be able to safely enter and exit the womb, perform surgery on a fetus and achieve a successful outcome," said Rychik. "Each one of these families is a pioneer and I have every expectation that Arley will grow into a healthy child with every opportunity to live a happy and productive life."

To date, CHOP has performed more than 1,629 fetal surgeries, more than any other hospital in the world.