Baby and womb lifted from mum during cancer surgery

A mother's womb containing her unborn baby was lifted from her abdomen during a life-saving operation.

Lucy, 32, a special needs teacher who lives near Sonning Common in Oxfordshire, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 12 weeks pregnant.

At 20 weeks, a team of 15 doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford carried out a five-hour operation to remove the cancerous cells on both ovaries, behind the womb.

Her womb and son were then returned to her body and her baby was born at the end of January, weighing 6lb 5oz (3kg).

Ovarian cancer affects 7,000 women every year in the UK and more than 4,000 women a year die from it, according to Cancer Research UK.

Doctors feared if they waited until the baby was born to treat Lucy's tumour, the cancer would likely spread and pose a risk to her life.

But her pregnancy was too far advanced to allow surgeons to perform standard keyhole surgery.

The procedure, with risks to both mother and child, has only been carried out a handful of times across the world.

Lucy said she took a pregnancy test early in the summer of 2024 and there was "lots of excitement" when it came back positive.

She recalled going for the routine 12-week scan at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

"The sonographer talked us through the baby, who was looking really healthy and then she just went really quiet," she said.

"Just for a few minutes Adam and I were just looking at each other thinking, 'oh gosh something's obviously a little bit off and she's not happy'.

"Then she said, there is something on here Lucy, it's on your ovary and I think you need to see a specialist."

The womb remained connected to the uterine artery to maintain a supply of blood and oxygen to the baby, during the five-hour operation.

It also stayed attached to the left fallopian tube and cervix.

Two members of the team held Lucy's womb in their hands during the entire procedure.

It was wrapped in a warm, sterile saline pack to mimic being inside the body and to keep it at the right temperature.

Hooman Soleymani Majd, a consultant in gynaecological oncology, described it as a "complex and challenging" procedure.

"The dedication and expertise of our multidisciplinary team ensured a positive outcome for both Lucy and her baby," he said.

Lucy said she felt in "very safe hands" during her time in hospital.

"Every doctor, nurse we spoke to was lovely, supportive, knowledgeable gave us the reassurance that we needed," she explained.

"I didn't for one second doubt that we weren't going to be very well looked after."

Lucy had not showed symptoms before the ovarian cancer was discovered and said she felt "incredibly lucky" to have been diagnosed and treated.

She said now her son had arrived, "safe and sound", she would have her completion surgery next month.

"For me, that's the main thing that he is here, he is healthy," she continued.

"Ever since that 12-week scan, there was so much in my pregnancy that we felt, 'If we get to meet our baby...' rather than, 'When we get to meet our baby...'."

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.