Luka Doncic and Anamaria Goltes, who got engaged on July 7, are now the proud parents of two daughters, Gabriela and Olivia.
An Arizona couple was 21 weeks pregnant when they found out their baby needed fetal surgery.
Yulianna Cleto and her husband Michael Flores were pregnant with their first child when a 3D sonogram at 21 weeks gestation revealed that their baby had a large mass growing on her chest.
In order to save the baby, Cleto and Flores met with Dr. Kenneth Liechty — a one-of-a-kind pediatric and fetal surgeon in Tucson, Arizona.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, fetal surgery — also known as prenatal surgery or in-utero surgery — “is a procedure on a fetus while it’s still developing in your uterus.”
Liechty, who works out of Diamond Children’s Medical Center at the Banner University Medical Center, specializes in this kind of life-saving surgery for babies who are on the verge of dying.
“The majority of the kids that we’re operating on are babies that if we didn’t intervene would die,” Dr. Liechty said in an interview with KGUN 9, published Oct. 30.
"That chest mass was compressing the heart and resulting in heart failure for the baby," he added of Cleto and Flores’ baby girl — named Ramona.
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Luckily for baby Ramona, Liechty had the tools and expertise to give her a second chance at life.
“We have the only fetal care center in the state that does the full range of fetal interventions," Dr. Liechty said, adding that most patients would’ve had to relocate to Denver or Los Angeles for similar fetal care.
According to KGUN 9, that would’ve been the case for Cleto and Flores as early as three years ago.
That’s because up until three years ago, life-saving fetal surgeries were unheard of in the state of Arizona — and likely wouldn’t exist today if Dr. Liechty hadn’t relocated to the area himself.
Dr. Liechty has high hopes for baby Ramona after fetal surgery
Not long after Cleto and Flores’ jarring discovery, Dr. Liechty and his team performed fetal surgery on baby Ramona.
Cleto has since given birth to her little girl — and she’s now one month old.
“I really do sit here every day and thank God that she’s here because I prayed for her," Cleto told KGUN 9.
"It’s hard not to cry when I think about it," Flores added of his daughter.
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In the month since her birth, Ramona has already undergone a second surgery and is scheduled for a third surgery in the near future.
Dr. Liechty and his team will continue to monitor Ramona for another year as she progresses.
“He’s a miracle worker," Cleto said of Dr. Liechty. "He’s blessed by God.”
Dr. Liechty said that by doing these surgeries while the baby is still in the womb, they’re “saving actually a whole lifetime” as opposed to something that “prolongs life a little bit.”
His life-saving surgery comes nearly two years after Dr. Liechty and his team performed Arizona’s first spina bifida in-utero procedure in February 2024.
“Learning that your unborn child needs a fetal intervention is one of the most stressful situations a family can experience,” Dr. Liechty said at the time, per Banner Children’s Hospital.
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“With our fetal surgery center, we can provide close consultation and continuous support for the family pre- and post-delivery and keep focused on the development of better treatment options,” he added.
