Baby Born In New Jersey With Only Half His Skull Beats The Odds And Is Currently Thriving At Eight Months Old

Nov 17, 2019 by apost team

Lucas Santa Maria is one remarkable baby. He was born on March 7, 2019, at 35 weeks of gestation, with an exposed brain. The tissues that normally keep the brain protected and safe had failed to develop. He had no skull above his eyebrows and ears.

This rare congenital condition is referred to as exencephaly. In most cases, the fetus's exposed brain degenerates during fetal development and the fetus is either miscarried or stillborn. Those few that survive to birth invariably die within a few hours after being born. Except for Lucas, who is the only known infant born with this condition that didn't.

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As reported by ABC 7 New York, the parents were told of the condition very early in the pregnancy; it was apparent by ultrasound at ten weeks gestation that the skull was not forming properly. The doctors suggested termination of the pregnancy and told the devastated parents the fetus had no chance of survival. Despite this, Maria decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.

After the birth, Lucas was expected to simply stop breathing and die within a few hours. Doctors were shocked when he was still alive the next day. And the next day. And then they were faced with a dilemma: what to do? An exposed brain would surely eventually prove to be fatal.

After much thought, the doctors proposed removing the damaged parts of Lucas' brain and sealing the exposed tissues to protect them from infection and damage. This highly experimental surgery was approved by the hospital and the parents agreed to pursue it. Lucas survived the surgery and continues to thrive. He is now eight months old.

He will face many future surgeries as doctors work to repair and replace his missing skull. His neurological function in the future is also unclear; the extensive damage to his brain may not be fixable. However, babies are very adaptable and missing or damaged parts of the brain can usually be compensated for by other parts taking on new tasks. So far, his development has been similar to others his age. He eats, vocalizes, responds to his parents, and is trying to learn how to crawl.

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