At a routine ultrasound during her second pregnancy, Brailey Valenzuela got shocking news. “They were calling it a mass,” she says. “That was on a Friday and my OB wanted me to come back Monday to do an additional ultrasound to see if they could try to pinpoint what it was a little better.”
Days later, a pediatric cardiologist performed another ultrasound and confirmed the mass and diagnosed it as a pericardial teratoma. This very rare fetal heart tumor can have catastrophic consequences. Without intervention, the tumor would continue to grow and crush her baby’s heart.
Time was of the essence. The baby’s heart function was declining rapidly and a decision to intervene needed to be made right away. Brailey was referred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s fetal heart program where a team of experts was ready to perform the life-saving surgery.
Read more about baby Arley’s fetal heart surgery and her “boring” recovery.
