Jay’ce’s story centers on a rare intervention during delivery: doctors at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, treated a neck mass that threatened his airway before he was fully born. A year later, his family returned to the hospital to mark his first birthday and thank the medical team.
According to WSVN, doctors at Memorial Healthcare System noticed the mass in Jay’ce’s neck while he was still in the womb, and it was blocking his airflow. Dr. Terri-Ann Bennett, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Memorial Healthcare System, said the mass measured a very large six centimeters and sat on the right side of his neck. Without intervention, doctors determined he would not be able to breathe once he was born, the station reported.
Jay’ce’s mother, Juliana Soriano, was 18 and pregnant for the first time when she learned about the diagnosis, WSVN reported.
A Rare Procedure Performed Before Birth
Doctors performed a partial cesarean section known as an EXIT procedure, short for ex utero intrapartum treatment. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Moiz Mustafa explained to WSVN that the approach allows doctors to partially deliver a baby, provide treatment, and then continue the delivery before transferring the newborn to the neonatal ICU.
Surgeons treated Jay’ce’s airway while he remained connected to the placenta through his umbilical cord, according to WSVN. The method allows blood flow and oxygen to continue during treatment. As UNC Health's Fetal Care Center explains, the baby is partially delivered but remains in the uterus, with the umbilical cord neither clamped nor cut. The center says EXIT may be recommended when a large mass or tumor on a baby’s neck or face could make breathing difficult at birth.
Care for Complex Pregnancies
For complex pregnancies, Memorial Healthcare System says its maternal-fetal medicine specialists coordinate with patients’ OB/GYNs on needed testing, treatment and monitoring. The system also says Memorial Regional Hospital Family Birthplace is next to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s Level IV neonatal intensive care unit.
The Stakes of a High-Risk Delivery
Medical literature underscores why Jay’ce’s case called for such an unusual approach. A congenital head or neck mass increases the risk of airway obstruction and imminent respiratory failure at birth, according to a study published on ScienceDirect. That same research found the EXIT procedure has replaced an older method known as operation on placental support as the preferred way to manage a fetal airway, emphasizing that preoperative planning and communication between coordinating teams ultimately determines whether the surgery succeeds.
A 2020 systematic review of 120 studies covering 235 EXIT surgery cases, also published on ScienceDirect, found a global perinatal survival rate of 83% and no maternal deaths reported among the cases studied, though fetal and neonatal death still occurred in 17% of cases. The review concluded that EXIT surgery should be considered only when there is a high suspicion of fetal airway obstruction, balanced against minimal risk to the mother.
Family Calls Him a Miracle
A year later, Jay’ce’s family describes him as happy and healthy. His mother, Juliana Soriano, said, “He’s here, he’s strong, he fought everything,” according to WSVN. His grandmother, Silvia Soriano, called him a miracle and a blessing.
For Soriano, seeing Jay’ce alive and strong at his first birthday was a source of gratitude after the uncertainty of her first pregnancy, WSVN reported.
