Miracle baby Jagger Scalzo has just celebrated his first birthday, and his family is in awe that the young boy has managed to reach that important milestone at all. That is because Jagger had a medical condition that threatened his life even before he was born into this world.
The rarity of his medical condition was that even the doctors were surprised that Jagger got it. Jagger's parents, Donovan and Mycaela Scalzo, first found out that something was wrong with him when they got an ultrasound.
Doctor Joseph B. Lilligard, a surgeon at Children's Minnesota, told CBS Minnesota that Jagger had an oropharyngeal hematoma. These facial tumors can be really small, or they can be quite large, and Jagger's was huge, according to Lilligard.
Jagger's life in danger because of huge facial tumor
He added that it is a condition that happens in 1-to-35,000 to 1-to-200,000 live births. These facial tumors can block the baby's airway, so the moment the child is born, they would not have the ability to protect their airway, and they would not be able to breathe as a result.
Given the severity of baby Jagger's condition, the concerned parents decided to go to Minneapolis from Hayward and get a consultation at the Midwest Fetal Care Center. The said appointment was made possible by the partnership between Allina Health and Children's Minnesota.
Mycaela was emotional when recalling the hardships they faced during that time, saying, "I think I cried almost every appointment up until he was there. It is just so unknown." Fortunately for Mycaela and her husband Donovan, the medics there, led by Dr. Lilligard, knew what to do with Jagger's case.
KVOA reported that doctors would have to perform a C-section on Mycaela where the baby would be partially born, to fix the facial tumor problem. The doctors will then remove the grapefruit-sized tumor covering Jagger's mouth and face.
Jagger relied on his mother and placenta for support during risky operation
Lilligard explained that the procedure was a very difficult one, saying, "You're debulking a huge tumor, so when I come across the tumor, you're taking all this exceptional blood supply, and you have to do so in a baby that can't breathe on his own, needs all that support from the placenta."
Lilligard added that because the surgery takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete, the mom and the placenta will provide all the support for the baby until they can get that tumor out of the way. According to Lilligard, the operation was risky, but both mother and child were fine, with the doctors managing to secure the baby's airway without any problems.
Lilligard said the entire process was remarkable as they go from a pretty horrific-type scene to a normal, exciting, almost perfect-like outcome. According to a report by Children's Minnesota, Jagger had to stay in the NICU for 76 days in total.
