Bergen Baby With Missing Skull Defies Odds And Survives: Reports

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bergen County 7-month-old is the first baby to survive past birth with a rare cranial condition where part of his skull is missing.

Lucas Santa Maria of Garfield is the first baby with born with exencephaly to survive, CNN reported. Exencephaly is a rare condition where a baby's skull does not completely form in utero.

He is the only baby in the world with the condition known to survive this long. Normally, babies with it die soon after they are born.

Maria Santa Maria, Lucas' mom, told ABC7 that doctors recommended she have an abortion when they learned of his condition.

"That's not what I wanted to do," Santa Maria said in the report.

Right after Lucas was born, doctors told his three sisters that he would die soon, CNN reported. Lucas' dad Augusto made funeral arrangements. But Lucas was breathing on his own and eating.

Then Dr. Tim Vogel with the North Jersey Brain and Spine Center performed a surgery that had never been attempted before: He removed the damaged part of Lucas' brain, hoping that the rest of his brain would compensate, CNN reported.

Lucas is a healthy baby otherwise and Vogel will take layers off of the skull bone as it forms to help round his head, ABC7 reported.

Now, Lucas eats like a baby his age and has "exceeded our expectations," Vogel told CNN.

Santa Maria could not be reached for comment. She posted a Facebook live stream of a news story about Lucas and a Bible verse Wednesday: "All the honor and glory is of God. What is impossible for men, is possible for God, Luke 18:27."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com