High-risk Surgery Saves Baby Cassian

At the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Florida, a young mother found herself fighting for the lives of herself and her unborn child.

While in the womb, baby Cassian was diagnosed with an incredibly rare lung disease called congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (or CHAOS). Simply put, CHAOS, which affects 1 in 50,000 pregnancies, is a blockage that halts critical lung function. The result: organ swelling and a compressed heart.

Doctors had to act fast. Baby Cassian’s case was specifically rare. 1 in 4 fetuses with CHAOS succumb to heart failure before reaching weeks 37 to 39, a window in which doctors are usually able to perform the necessary surgery to remove the blockage. According to Dr. Emanuel Vlastos, one of the attending surgeons, Cassian fell within that 25%. His heart was incapable of developing properly under the pressure of his overinflated lungs.

Cassian’s parents, Keishera and Greg Joubert, would not give up on their child, even proclaiming if this surgery could act as the catalyst to help other parents in a similar situation, it was well worth the risk.

“When you hear the parents say …, ‘Well, we know this may not work out, but if you can learn something and help another child, it’s probably going to be worthwhile’ — that’s a pretty magnanimous thing for a parent to say,” Vlastos said.

With mother Keishera in her 25th week of pregnancy, doctors performed an initial ExIT, inserting a catheter into baby Cassian’s windpipe to drain the liquid from his lungs. Dr. Cole Greves, another surgeon assigned to this precarious case, asserts this may very well be the first operation of its kind. The ExIT is usually an operation performed at child birth, making Cassian’s story all the more astonishing.

Six weeks post-surgery, Keishera began contractions, signaling that Cassian was ready to officially say hello to the world. At 31 weeks, in the early hours of the morning, a 30-person team successfully performed a second ExIT, removing the catheter and inserting a breathing tube.

The delivery was a success. Though premature, this strong-willed baby was born in overall good health. While currently on a ventilator, he’s slowly being weaned off and will eventually get a surgery to permanently remove his breathing tube.

The Bright Side

The human spirit is an astonishing phenomenon. With fearless determination, the Jouberts never gave up on their child, on themselves. Doctors bravely put their skills to the test, and as a result, Cassian has more than a fighting chance for a healthy, happy life. Never stop fighting. With a strong will and unshakeable belief, not a single thing, not even a rare condition, can stop you.

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