A Bakersfield family is celebrating the birth of their son, Ryu Lopez, after a rare and complex pregnancy was successfully managed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Suze Lopez, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse, discovered she was pregnant during pre-surgical testing for the removal of a large ovarian cyst.
“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said. “And I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort. I could not believe that after 17 years of praying, and trying, for a second child, that I was actually pregnant.”
After learning about her pregnancy, Lopez began experiencing abdominal pain while attending a baseball game in Los Angeles with her husband. She sought care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where doctors diagnosed her with an abdominal ectopic pregnancy—a rare condition where the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.
“Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,” said John Ozimek, DO, medical director of Labor and Delivery at Cedars-Sinai. “We then discovered a nearly full-term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus. A pregnancy this far outside the uterus that continues to develop is almost unheard of.”
Gynecological oncologist Michael Manuel, MD from Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center explained: “It was profound to see this full-term baby sitting behind a very large ovarian tumor, not in the uterus. In my entire career, I’ve never even heard of one making it this far into the pregnancy.” He added: “We had to figure out how to deliver the baby with a placenta and its blood vessels attached in the abdomen, remove the very large ovarian mass and do everything we could to save mom and this child.”
The delivery involved about 30 specialists including maternal-fetal medicine experts and anesthesiologists. After delivering Ryu via surgery—while also removing Lopez’s cyst—the team responded quickly when Lopez began hemorrhaging.
“As soon as the baby was delivered, Lopez started hemorrhaging badly. We were a specially trained team of obstetric anesthesiologists and well prepared, but it was still intense,” said anesthesiologist Michael Sanchez, MD. “I had already powered up a special machine that delivers blood products fast because every second matters. We used 11 units of blood.”
Cedars-Sinai is recognized as California’s only Level IV Maternal Care hospital due to its comprehensive maternal services before birth through postpartum care.
“The ability to provide this level of highly trained, coordinated and multidisciplinary care for extremely high-risk patients can make a critical difference in the health of both mother and baby as we saw in this extraordinary case of Suze and Ryu Lopez,” said Sarah J. Kilpatrick, MD, PhD.
Neonatologist Sara Dayanim noted concerns about Ryu’s lung development but reported he recovered quickly: “We were very prepared to handle any lung problems the baby might have. But he came out of anesthesia pretty quickly and he was feisty,” Dayanim said. “The following day we were able to remove the breathing tube…he defied all odds.”
Nurse Carmen Chavez provided ongoing support for Suze throughout her recovery: “This was an exceptionally high-risk case…It was all hands on deck for our nursing team…I wanted to stay close,” Chavez said.
Ryu’s parents expressed gratitude following their experience at Cedars-Sinai: “He is our gift. And Ryu and Suze are my miracles,” Andrew Lopez said.
Located in Los Angeles since its founding in 1902 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has become known for specialized services such as pediatric care; it admitted more than 50 thousand patients during 2022 according to its annual report.
