YOUR HEALTH: Pregnant and battling brain tumor

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Tumors during pregnancy are rare, but when they happen, they add another level of urgency for both the expectant mother and her unborn baby. Now imagine being diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant with twins. In this complex scenario, doctors took on this challenge.

“Right when I went into my second trimester, I started experiencing the headaches. And then as I got into my third trimester, it was so severe that it would make me cry,” said Jeanette Davila.

Davila’s headaches were not caused by her pregnancy, but the later surgery was definitely a risk to her unborn twins.

“I started noticing that I couldn’t see. When I woke up the next morning after realizing that I had lost vision in my left eye, I had no vision in my right eye,” said Davila.

An MRI revealed a benign brain tumor.

“A tumor that originated from the pituitary gland,” said Dr. Pablo Recinos, a neurosurgeon at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Recinos says the tumor was in the center of her brain, had bled, and was growing.

“Her tumor had expanded to the size of, perhaps, like, a small tangerine. And more importantly, it was pushing on the nerves that controlled her vision,” explained Dr. Recinos.

Worried Davila’s vision loss could become permanent, Dr. Recinos’ team could not delay surgery.

“There was a major risk to her vision,” said Dr. Recinos.

At 36 weeks into her pregnancy, they operated. Using a small camera, Dr. Recinos used an endoscope, inserted through the nostrils, to remove the tumor.

“The high-risk obstetrics team, which was composed of a doctor, nurses, and techs that were monitoring the babies continuously through the procedure,” said Dr. Recinos.

Davila’s vision immediately improved, and one week after surgery, she gave birth, via C-section, to Juliette and Noah. And today, all three are home and healthy.

“Just never lose hope. Never lose your faith. Just stay strong,” said Davila.

Davila, like other patients with pituitary tumors, will need to have yearly MRIs throughout her life to make sure it does not return.

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