At just four months into her pregnancy, Kimberly Robinson was told by doctors that something was very wrong. A large mass was protruding from her unborn son’s mouth. While several physicians said her child wouldn’t survive, Robinson, who lives in Miami, searched for other opinions. Dr. Elvire Jacques, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Holtz Children’s Hospital, took on her case. Robinson’s blood pressure was high, she had signs of preeclampsia and her uterus was swelling with an excessive amount of amniotic fluid. Baby Jordan wasn’t able to swallow that fluid, which is a normal process during pregnancy, because the large growth filled his entire mouth and covered most of his face. Every Wednesday during the pregnancy, Dr. Jacques drained about a liter of amniotic fluid from Robinson’s belly.

On March 25, 2009, Jordan Jamal Smith was born at 38 weeks gestation. A mass larger than the baby’s head covered his face and was just millimeters from his brain. Dr. Ramzi Younis, chief of pediatric otolaryngology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, was on hand during the delivery. Just moments after Jordan was born, Dr. Younis had the difficult task of making sure Jordan was breathing. He had just minutes to intubate the baby during the delivery process, before the umbilical cord could be cut. Nine days after Jordan was born, Dr. Younis successfully removed the entire growth. Jordan has been recovering in the NICU at Holtz Children’s Hospital.

These types of cases are extremely rare, occurring in about one in 100,000 births. Most babies do not survive delivery. Jordan is expected to make a full recovery and lead a normal life. “This is a miracle baby,” Dr. Younis said.