Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Team Performs Lifesaving Fetal Heart Surgery

For the fourth time in CHOP’s history, team successfully removed a rare tumor from baby’s heart while still in the womb

Philadelphia November 7, 2024 – When Brailey and Louis Valenzuela from Tennessee went for their 24-week ultrasound in December 2023, they received devastating news. Their unborn daughter, Arley, had a pericardial teratoma, a life-threatening tumor that develops inside the sac surrounding the heart that is typically fatal if it continues to grow and is not removed.

The couple travelled to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where fetal surgery to remove this kind of tumor was first successfully performed in 2013 and subsequently repeated in 2016 and 2017. They met with experts from CHOP’s Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and Fetal Heart Program, for a full evaluation, and less than 24 hours later, Brailey became the fourth patient at CHOP to successfully undergo this type of fetal heart surgery.

The CHOP team performing the surgery encompassed an extensive array of experts from cardiology, fetal surgery, maternal-fetal medicine, cardiovascular surgery, anesthesiology, neonatology, and psychology as well as a special cohort of fetal nurses. Overall, CHOP has performed more than 1,629 fetal surgeries, more than any other hospital in the world.

“Fetal surgery is a well-orchestrated dance,” said Holly Hedrick, MD, a pediatric and fetal surgeon at CHOP who led the surgery. “Every decision the team makes is informed by decades of experience.”

On Feb. 17, 2024, three months after the surgery, Arley was born via c-section in CHOP’s Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit, the world’s first birth facility in a pediatric hospital specifically designed for healthy mothers carrying babies with birth defects. Arley spent three weeks in CHOP’s Harriet and Ronald Lassin Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit before going home to Tennessee.

“When I went to medical school, it was unimaginable that we'd be able to safely enter and exit the womb, perform surgery on a fetus and achieve a successful outcome,” said Jack Rychik, MD, Director of the Fetal Heart Program at CHOP. “Each one of these families is a pioneer and I have every expectation that Arley will grow into a healthy child with every opportunity to live a happy and productive life.”

Today, Arley is eight months old and thriving at home with her parents and sister.

Learn more about Arley’s story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kcSYBb0l0s

About Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia:
A non-profit, charitable organization, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, the hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. The institution has a well-established history of providing advanced pediatric care close to home through its CHOP Care Network, which includes more than 50 primary care practices, specialty care and surgical centers, urgent care centers, and community hospital alliances throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Middleman Family Pavilion and its dedicated pediatric emergency department in King of Prussia. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit https://www.chop.edu.

Contact: Natalie Solimeo
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
267-426-6246
[email protected]