Before she was even born, baby Layla was already fighting for her life.

During a routine 16-week pregnancy scan, doctors discovered a large mᴀss growing on the left side of her neck. Her mother, Ashley Manderle, was told the tumor would need to be monitored closely as the pregnancy progressed.

Over the following weeks, the mᴀss nearly doubled in size, raising serious concerns that it could eventually compress Layla’s airway and prevent her from breathing after birth.

To give their daughter the best chance of survival, a multidisciplinary team at UW Health’s Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center developed a carefully planned delivery using an Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment (EXIT) procedure—a highly specialized operation performed while the baby remains connected to the placenta.

At 32 weeks of pregnancy, Layla was partially delivered by cesarean section while still receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord. This allowed surgeons precious extra time to secure her airway before completing the delivery.

The procedure took approximately 12 minutes, during which doctors successfully inserted a breathing tube. Without the EXIT procedure, specialists explained that the delay in establishing an airway could have been life-threatening.

After the breathing tube was in place, Layla was fully delivered.

Doctors later revealed that the tumor measured about 17 centimeters—larger than her head.

While waiting for surgery, Layla had to remain on her stomach or side because the weight of the tumor could place dangerous pressure on her airway.

Just four days later, surgeons successfully removed the nearly two-pound mᴀss.

Today, Layla is healthy, thriving, and recovering remarkably well. Her mother says she has healed beautifully, with very little visible scarring from the operation.

Her story is a testament to the extraordinary teamwork of fetal medicine specialists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and neonatal intensive care staff who worked together to give her a chance at life.

💙🕊️ Layla’s incredible journey is a reminder of how advances in fetal and newborn medicine continue to create hope for families facing even the rarest and most challenging diagnoses.