Sixteen Years After Lifesaving Care for Gastroschisis, Kyla Returns to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital to Play Her Violin

The baby nursery that Laura Rocha, then 23, carefully decorated 16 years ago has transformed into a full-fledged teenager’s bedroom. The sweet, gender-neutral animal theme she lovingly curated is long gone, replaced by music posters and all the things high schooler Kyla loves.

Today, life is busy with an active teenager.

But Laura, now 40, and her husband, Daniel, 44, can still recall the moment time seemed to stand still, back at Laura’s 20-week anatomy ultrasound, when their world changed in an instant. Everything had been going smoothly with Laura’s pregnancy. The couple was thrilled to be expecting and loved the idea of waiting to be surprised about the gender of their baby.

When they left the OB/GYN’s office that day, they learned their baby had a congenital birth defect, gastroschisis. In an instant, Laura’s pregnancy was considered high risk and required special care.

Following the diagnosis, Laura’s care was transferred from her local obstetrician in Houston’s Memorial City area to the affiliated UT Physicians Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

There, the couple met Kuojen Tsao, MD, professor of Pediatric Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and co-director of The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, who would go on to perform Kyla’s surgery. “When we met Dr. Tsao, he was so kind and patient with us,” Laura recalled. “He answered every single question and assured us that the baby was going to be okay.”

Dr. Tsao explained that Kyla had a condition called gastroschisis, a congenital defect in which a baby’s abdominal wall doesn’t close completely during pregnancy. As a result, the intestines—and sometimes the stomach—develop outside the body.

“Surgery is required shortly after birth to safely return the organs to the abdominal cavity and protect them from damage,” Dr. Tsao said. “With prompt treatment and careful recovery, most babies with gastroschisis go on to live healthy lives.”

Surprise! It’s a Girl!

On June 16, 2009, Kyla Violet Rocha made her entry into the world. She was born prematurely at just 34 weeks. Laura recalls how the delivery room was filled with doctors and nurses, each prepared for the complex surgery ahead. “There was so much going on,” Laura said. “They wrapped her in sterile plastic and a blanket, let me kiss her forehead and off they went.”

Within minutes, Kyla was taken to surgery, where Dr. Tsao and his team carefully placed her exposed intestines back into her abdomen. While the operation was underway, Laura and Daniel waited anxiously. They knew they had chosen an experienced surgeon, but it was still an agonizing wait.

“With gastroschisis, our goal is to protect the exposed organs and gradually return them to the abdominal cavity without compromising blood flow or breathing,” explained Dr. Tsao. “In Kyla’s case, we were able to safely close her abdomen soon after birth and she recovered beautifully.”

Finally, Dr. Tsao appeared with good news. “He was calm and reassuring,” Laura said. “For the first time in what felt like weeks, we could finally breathe again.”

In the hospital’s Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the new parents finally got to meet their daughter. “She was really swollen, and that was scary to see,” Laura said. “But Dr. Tsao assured us that she was doing well and would heal perfectly. His calmness helped us feel calm too. He was relaxed about it and that made us feel relaxed.”

A Big ‘Thank You’ to the Nurses

During the six weeks Kyla spent in the NICU, Laura learned how to care for her tiny, healing daughter with the help of skilled, compassionate nurses who made a lasting impact. “I was a new mom at 23, scared out of my mind,” she said. “The nurses made me feel like I could do this.”

On July 31, 2009, Kyla was discharged, weighing just under 7 pounds and breathing on her own.

Two years later, Dr. Tsao performed a minor follow-up procedure to repair a small hernia at her incision site. “He cleaned up her scar and made it look like a belly button,” Laura said.

Playing Her Own Tune

Today, Kyla is a high school junior and a gifted electric violinist. “Music is her thing and she’s so good at it,” Laura said proudly. “Kyla’s heart is happiest when she’s playing with her band, When in May. Seeing her happy is everything to us.”

Kyla joined the Music is Medicine club at school. Last spring, the group performed at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Laura said: “Seeing her play the violin in the very foyer we walked through every day for weeks 16 years ago…wow! It was such a full-circle moment for me and Daniel.”

Reflecting on her daughter’s journey, Laura said she often thinks back to those early NICU days. “At the time, I was a kid myself learning to take care of a kid,” she said. “Now that ‘kid’ is a beautiful, intelligent and talented young woman ready to take on the world. And I truly believe Dr. Tsao made that possible.”

“Dr. Tsao’s bedside manner is amazing,” Laura added. “He had such an impact on us, and even after all this time, we’ll never forget how he and the team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital cared for Kyla and our family.”

Learn more about the pediatric surgery program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston »