Little Adalida Tyler was born with a rare tumor weighing about 4 pounds, almost two-thirds of her body weight.
- Last May, a baby was born with a rare but benign tumor in the coccyx.
- She weighed 1.8 kg, almost two thirds of the infant’s body weight.
- This type of tumor is called a sacrococcygeal teratoma. It affects one birth in 20,000.
Kristin and Jacob Tyler, two Americans already parents to a one-year-old boy, were over the moon when they learned that they were expecting a second child in September 2023. But last February, the ultrasound of the 20e week revealed something frightening: a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare fetal tumor, was forming in their baby’s coccyx. The parents shared their little girl’s story with the magazine People.
Sacrococcygeal teratoma: this rare neonatal tumor weighed 1.8 kg
The diagnosis of sacrococcygeal teratoma was not immediately made. During the morphological ultrasound, the doctor first suspected spina bifida, a malformation linked to a defect in the formation of the vertebral arches. It wasn’t until the next day after additional tests with specialists that Kristin and Jacob Tyler heard the term sacrococcygeal teratoma for the first time.
They then left their Louisiana and traveled nearly 400 km to meet Dr. Ahmed Nassr, a fetal medicine specialist at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. The expert then gave them more details about the tumor that was growing in their baby’s coccyx; a neonatal tumor “very rare” which affects one in 20,000 births, and more often girls.
Although the tumors are generally benign, they are not without risk for the fetus. Indeed, sacrococcygeal teratomas are likely to become large and develop large blood vessels. “These tumors essentially steal the baby’s blood supply, explains Dr. Nassr. The baby’s heart has to work very hard”, which can lead to heart failure.
“I was very scared”recognizes Kristin in the pages of the magazine across the Atlantic. “After so many doctor appointments and seeing him on the ultrasound, it was scary.” In March, the young woman temporarily moved to Houston with her mother and son William so that the growth of the baby and the tumor could be monitored by doctors. Her husband, for his part, had to stay in Louisiana to work. Far from her husband, other members of her family and even her friends, Kristin admits that these months of waiting in Texas were lonely and difficult. “I felt like we were in the dark.”
Finally, the young mother gave birth by cesarean section on May 21 at 34 weeks of pregnancy. Little Adalida Tyler was born with a 16-centimeter tumor weighing 1.8 kg. The equivalent of almost two thirds of the baby’s body weight.
Baby Born with 4-Lb. Tumor on Her Tailbone: ‘Seeing It on the Ultrasound Was Scary’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/z2pT7koDQj
— People (@people) October 7, 2024
A future operation to create buttocks
Dr. Nassr remembers the operation. The tumor was “a little smaller than a watermelon”. A substantial size for an infant. “We had to be very careful during childbirth, explains the doctor. We had to avoid any trauma or rupture of the tumor. Because sometimes with a tumor that big, it can rupture and start bleeding, and the baby can become very sick after delivery.”
When Adalida was born, she was quickly taken to the neonatal intensive care unit. “I was able to see her for a split second”remembers his mother. The little one had surgery two days later. She finally left the hospital on June 29 and is now in great shape. “He’s a good happy baby.”rejoices Kristin. “She’s healthy. She’s fine. She’s healed.”
However, when Adalida is between two and three years old, she will have to have cosmetic surgery for him “create” a behind. Indeed, as the removed tumor was at the bottom of his spine, doctors had to remove almost all the flesh from his buttocks. “It’s flat from his back to his legs.”says Kristin. “They’re basically going to make her look more like everyone else. They told me all the medical stuff has been taken care of, it’s just cosmetic.”
