Cassian undergoes risky in-utero surgery for fatal lung condition

5 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 30

At Orlando Health in Florida, surgeons operated at 25 weeks, draining fluid from his lungs and returning him to the womb; Cassian was later born in August 2025.
Doctors said the unusually early ExIT-style procedure may be the first of its kind for CHAOS, a condition affecting about one in 50,000 pregnancies and usually fatal without treatment.
Cassian was delivered at 31 weeks, remains on a ventilator but is improving, and doctors hope the case informs future treatment, though experts say more data are needed.

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