Four months ago, a new mum underwent open-heart surgery and a C-section at the same time.
Danielle Gaither, from North Carolina, had just a one percent chance of surviving both surgeries. However, she bravely beat the odds when the doctors saved both her and her baby.
The mum suffered from a pre-existing condition called Marfan Syndrome, which causes problems in the connective tissue. The disorder can affect blood vessels, bones, joints, and eyes.
She was told by doctors that it was safe for her to have a baby but was taken into intensive care for chest pains when she was 39 weeks pregnant.
Doctors informed her that her main artery was broken and was cutting off blood into her and her baby's body.
The operation took 20 doctors and six hours in total.
“The gold standard of treating aortic dissection is circulatory arrest, which is a surgical technique that stops blood circulation. But Danielle’s son needed blood flow in order to survive,” Dr Madjarov wrote on Carolinas Healthcare System’s blog.
“The only way to save Danielle and her son was to perform open-heart surgery and deliver Danielle’s son essentially at the same time.”
Danielle’s son, named KV, had to be put in the neonatal unit for a few days due to a lack of oxygen.
She wasn’t able to see her son until she was in a stable condition. After a long 111 days, she was finally able to meet him. Danielle, with tears of joy in her eyes finally got to hold KV after months of waiting.
"What amazes me is how our teams worked so well together,” says Joseph T. McGinn, MD, Sanger’s Chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.
“They knew what they had to do in a high-risk situation. And this time, it’s extra special, because coordinated teamwork across sub-specialties led to two lives being saved.”
The Gaither family are beside themselves that the operations went so well, and both mother and child are now perfectly healthy.
“It was a miracle that I had my baby. I died three times,” said Danielle. “I’m glad that I’m here, and I thank Dr. Madjarov and the team, along with God, for saving my life.”
