Epulis is a rare diagnosis during pregnancy in which a mass or tumor forms around an unborn baby’s mouth. This is the result of a developing tooth that doesn’t fit the connective tissue. It’s hardly detectable during pregnancy and affects only one in every 200,000 births. These growths can be benign but must be removed as they can cause developmental and even life-threatening issues in infants.
The Jerusalem Post reports that a team at Rabin Medical Center successfully removed a tumor of this type – described as “the largest of its kind” – from a 33-week-old unborn child:
Because of concerns of complications in a normal birth, the medical team decided to perform a cesarean section, performed by Dr. Yuval Yaniv on November 13. Following the successful cesarean section, the team transferred the newborn to a room where another team administered anesthesia nasally.
The hospital tasked its Deputy Director of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dr. Gal Avishai, with the planning of the operation which followed the delivery.
Explaining the dangers of the surgical operation, Dr. Avishai said that “[the] primary surgical challenge was to remove a tumor measuring about six centimeters when the baby’s head is only about eight centimeters, while minimizing bleeding.”
The delicate surgery required careful blood control since the tumor was shown to have vessels running through it. Ensuing check-ups of the baby girl show normal healing, and she will continue to be monitored until her teeth come in. Israel continues to provide the foremost in medical care for women and children in the Middle East.
