The Nigerian-born surgeon carried out the groundbreaking operation in the United States, at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, in 2016. The surgeon was Dr. Oluyinka O. Olutoye, MD, PhD, working alongside fetal surgeon Dr. Darrell Cass and a multidisciplinary team.
The Nigerian Surgeon Who Helped Save a Baby Before Birth
The baby at the centre of the extraordinary story was LynLee Hope Boemer, whose mother, Margaret Boemer, was pregnant with her when doctors discovered a potentially fatal tumour.
At about 16 weeks of pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed that LynLee had a rare condition called a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) — a tumour that develops near the baby’s tailbone. While some SCTs can be monitored until birth, LynLee’s tumour was growing rapidly and demanding an enormous amount of blood from her developing body.
Doctors feared that her tiny heart would eventually be unable to cope.
By 23 weeks and five days, the tumour had become so dangerous that the medical team faced an extraordinary decision: attempt fetal surgery or risk losing the baby.
The extraordinary operation
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye and Dr. Darrell Cass were among the surgeons who co-led the operation at Texas Children’s Hospital. The multidisciplinary team reportedly consisted of about 21 medical professionals.
The operation lasted approximately five hours, although the actual work on the fetus took only around 20 minutes.
Surgeons opened Margaret’s uterus and carefully brought LynLee partially out of the womb. The procedure was so delicate that the baby was temporarily outside the uterus while the surgeons removed approximately 90 per cent of the tumour.
The tumour had been putting enormous pressure on LynLee’s cardiovascular system. During the procedure, her heart rate became dangerously low and at one point essentially stopped. The medical team intervened rapidly, stabilising her so that the operation could continue.
After removing the bulk of the tumour, the surgeons carefully returned LynLee to her mother’s uterus.
The uterus was then closed and the pregnancy continued.
The remarkable part was that LynLee was not delivered at 23 weeks. She remained inside her mother’s womb for another 12 weeks, giving her body additional time to mature.
Baby LynLee was “born twice”
Margaret remained on bed rest following the operation.
Against enormous odds, the pregnancy continued until almost 36 weeks.
On June 6, 2016, LynLee was delivered by Caesarean section at approximately 36 weeks. She weighed about 5 pounds, 5 ounces and was considered healthy after her initial evaluation.
Her journey, however, was not completely over.
Because a small portion of the tumour could not be removed during the fetal operation, it began growing again. When LynLee was eight days old, surgeons performed another operation to remove the remaining tumour.
She subsequently recovered and eventually went home with her family.
That extraordinary sequence led to LynLee being widely described as “the baby who was born twice.”
Who is Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye?
Dr. Oluyinka O. Olutoye is a Nigerian-born pediatric and fetal surgeon who has built an international reputation for pioneering work in fetal surgery.
He obtained his medical degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, before earning a PhD in anatomy from Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States. He subsequently completed surgical training and fellowships in pediatric and fetal surgery.
Before moving to Ohio, Olutoye was co-director of the Fetal Center at Texas Children’s Hospital, where he was involved in advanced fetal surgery.
In 2019, he became Surgeon-in-Chief at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, while also serving as professor and the E. Thomas Boles Chair of Pediatric Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
His work has focused heavily on fetal and neonatal surgery, including procedures designed to correct serious abnormalities before birth.
Interestingly, Nigeria’s Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has also recognised Olutoye’s historic contribution, describing him as the doctor who brought a fetus out during a crucial operation and successfully returned her to her mother’s womb.
One important clarification
The viral version saying “a Nigerian surgeon temporarily removed a baby from her mother’s womb at 23 weeks” is broadly accurate about what happened, but it can give the impression that the procedure happened in Nigeria.
The operation happened at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, and Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye was part of the surgical team alongside Dr. Darrell Cass.
And although the story is often presented as though the entire baby was simply “taken out,” the actual procedure involved carefully opening the uterus and bringing the fetus out sufficiently to operate, before returning her to the womb and closing the uterus.
It remains one of the remarkable examples of modern fetal surgery — and a powerful reminder of the level of expertise Nigerian-trained doctors have contributed to medicine around the world.
