When doctors discovered a giant tumour in Lynsey McDonald’s abdomen during an emergency caesarean, she feared it would be her first and only birth.
Just minutes after delivering her son Lennox, doctors at Mater Mothers’ Hospital asked her permission to remove her right ovary and fallopian tube, and the 14cm tumour – the size of a grapefruit – that was attached to it.
She called fiancé Matthew Thomson to her side to help her through the painful dilemma.
“I just couldn’t make the decision,” Ms McDonald said.
“Doctors wanted to remove my right ovary and Matt made the call and decided ‘You’re too important, take it off!’
“All I wanted was to have another baby and I didn’t know if that would be possible if I only had one ovary.”
Four years on, and after suffering four miscarriages, Ms McDonald has given birth to her second ‘miracle’ child, Evander.
The proud mum, from Birkdale in the Redlands, described her two boys as a “dream come true”.
The first sign of the challenges she would face as a mother came when she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia towards the end of her pregnancy with Lennox.
Her condition deteriorated and at 40 weeks’ gestation Mater obstetricians decided to perform an emergency cesarean section.
“There I was in the midst of celebrating the birth of our first child when minutes later doctors were discussing the large mass that had been growing on my ovary,” Ms McDonald said.
“If Lennox hadn’t been born via an emergency caesarean section that day, the tumour could have continued to grow. I really think Lennox saved my life.”
The ovarian teratoma was a non-cancerous Struma ovarii tumour, in which more than 50 per cent of the overall mass is made up of thyroid tissue.
Struma ovarii account for less than 1 per cent of all ovarian tumours and can be encountered both in young women and perimenopausal women.
The most common symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal distention, abnormal menstrual cycles, vaginal bleeding, frequent and urgent urination, and deep vein thrombosis – none of which Ms McDonald experienced.
Despite her experience, Ms McDonald and her husband never gave up hope of having another child.
“We both really wanted another baby. Maintaining the pregnancies was difficult – we had four miscarriages back-to-back and it was a difficult time for Matt and I,” Ms McDonald said.
Genetic tests revealed Matthew had a genetic abnormality called Robertsonian translocation, a condition that affects 1 in 1000 people and can cause infertility.
It is an unusual type of chromosome rearrangement caused by two particular chromosomes joining together.
However, Ms McDonald fell pregnant naturally last year and welcomed baby Evander at Mater Mothers’ Hospital in South Brisbane on 26 June.
“We are so happy we maintained the pregnancy with Evander and we are so, so grateful that we have our little family,” she said.
Mater obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Huda Safa said it was the first time she had seen an ovarian teratoma, also known as dermoid tumor, entirely made of thyroid tissue.
“Something like this is certainly not very common,” Dr Safa said.
Following discussions with Mater gynaecologist oncologist Dr Nisha Jagasia just minutes after baby Lennox was born, Dr Safa removed Ms McDonald’s right ovary and the tumour at the same time.
“A decision was made as there were suspicions the tumour could be malignant,” Dr Safa said.
“The tumour looked aggressive.”
Ms McDonald recalled being excited about becoming a mum to worrying about having a cancerous tumour.
“It’s scary to know that can grow inside of you,” she said.
“I am glad the tumour wasn’t cancerous but to find out what was inside of it was weird and strange.”
Ms McDonald said it was “meant to be” when Dr Safa arrived at the recent birth of Evander. “Dr Safa was there when I had Lennox and the tumour was removed – and I was grateful she was there for Evander too,” she said.
“I hold my boys in my arms and I just can’t believe it, my dreams have come true. “I am so proud of my body, after such a tough time trying to maintain a pregnancy, we have another little miracle which we created with one ovary!”
Ms McDonald thanked the multidisciplinary team at Mater Mothers’ Hospital for caring for her family during what she described as a “challenging time”.
