A 22‑Week Birth, a Tiny Heart Device, and a Life Saved at Oklahoma Children’s OU Health

When Kara Deaver was 17, she had major surgery to remove her bowel because of a rare condition called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). She was warned that pregnancy might never be possible.

In early 2025, after four years of trying, Kara and her partner, Tyler Christian, were finally expecting a baby. Each obstetric appointment brought reassurance — the baby looked strong, healthy, and right on track. At Kara’s anatomy scan everything was perfect.

However, at just 22 weeks pregnant, this all changed when Kara woke up bleeding. Her mother urged her to go straight to the Obstetrics Emergency Room inside Oklahoma Children’s. Within minutes of arrival, Kara was admitted because she was already 2 centimeters dilated.

For two days, her care team worked to slow the contractions and prepare for every possible outcome. On the evening of Tuesday, May 6, Kara’s contractions returned stronger than ever. When the doctor checked again, she was 4 centimeters dilated, meaning she was in active labor. Moments later, her water broke, and Kara’s tiny daughter arrived at 22 weeks and 2 days’ gestation. Although Saylor was impossibly small, weighing only 1 pound, 1 ounce, she was alive.

The Oklahoma Children’s neonatal delivery team immediately stabilized the baby and rushed her to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the high-level, expert care she would need to survive.

“Saylor was so tiny,” Kara said. “Her dad saw her move and cry. She didn’t even have a voice yet, but she was fighting.”

An Extremely Premature Beginning

Babies born before 23 weeks are considered micro-preemies — among the smallest and most fragile patients in neonatal care. Their organs, especially the lungs and heart, are still developing and need highly specialized support. While doctors are getting better at helping these tiny newborns, their journey is still very difficult. For a baby born at 22 weeks’ gestation, like Saylor, the chance of surviving and going home without major, long-term health problems is about 1 in 16. Receiving care at a Level IV NICU, like the one at Oklahoma Children’s, provides preemies with the best possible chance to survive and thrive.

Oklahoma Children’s is the only NICU in Oklahoma to have a neonatologist in the hospital 24/7. The team, led by OU Health neonatologist Dr. Patricia Williams, M.D., medical director of Oklahoma Children's NICU and associate professor in the Section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine was called to Saylor’s birth and placed her in a temperature-controlled incubator and covered her with sterile plastic wrap to keep her warm because her skin was too thin to regulate her temperature. She was also given a breathing tube as her lungs weren’t developed enough to allow her to breathe on her own. Saylor’s initial care was guided by the Oklahoma Children’s NICU Small Baby Program.

Saylor had a series of scans and heart tests during her first few days of life. OU Health neonatologist and hemodynamics specialist Dr. Marjorie Makoni, M.D., assistant professor in the Section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the OU College of Medicine, performed a series of echocardiograms. Oklahoma Children’s is the only hospital in Oklahoma to have a dedicated neonatal hemodynamics program — the second highest volume in the United States. The echocardiogram results revealed a condition common in premature infants — patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Understanding Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Before birth, every baby has a small vessel called the ductus arteriosus that allows blood to bypass the lungs. After birth, in term babies, this vessel normally closes within a few days. In extremely premature newborns, it often stays open.

When the duct remains open, or patent, it allows blood to flow abnormally between the heart’s major arteries (aorta) to the lungs. This causes the heart to enlarge and the lungs to be flooded with too much blood, making it harder for the baby to breathe and grow.

In collaboration with the neonatal hemodynamics program, doctors first tried to close Saylor’s PDA with medication.

“They did three or four rounds of treatment to try to close it on its own,” Kara said. “But it didn’t resolve it.”

As Saylor’s heart continued to enlarge, her doctors knew she needed a more direct solution. They turned to the Piccolo procedure; a minimally invasive technique performed in the cardiac catheterization (cath) lab to close the vessel without open-heart-surgery. It can be performed on babies as tiny as 1 pound.

Setbacks and a Second Chance

Before the scheduled procedure, Saylor developed a serious intestinal complication that can affect premature infants, requiring immediate medical treatment and close monitoring.

“A PDA sends extra blood into the heart and lungs that the body doesn’t need,” explained OU Health pediatric cardiologist Dr. Subhrajit Lahiri, M.D., FAAP, FSCAI, MPICS. “The heart starts getting bigger and begins to fail, and the lungs become congested.”

These changes may also affect overall circulation, including to the digestive system, Dr. Lahiri said. 

Saylor started antibiotics right away but while she was recovering, her care team discovered that she had cytomegalovirus (CMV). This common viral infection can cause complications in newborns with immature immune systems. Saylor began a six-month course of antiviral medication.

Once the infection was under control, her cardiology and neonatology teams collaborated again to reschedule the Piccolo procedure.

A Tiny Device With a Huge Impact

On July 9, two months after Saylor was born, she was finally able to have the Piccolo procedure. Through a thin catheter inserted into a vein in her leg, Dr. Lahiri and the interventional cardiology team guided a tiny self-expanding device, smaller than a pea, into her heart to seal the open vessel.

Unlike open-heart surgery, the Piccolo device doesn’t require large incisions.

“The device blocks the blood flow, and within a few months the body covers it with its own tissue,” said Dr. Lahiri. “It stays there for life, but as the child grows, it becomes almost invisible.”

Oklahoma Children’s has the only pediatric operating room in Oklahoma equipped to perform the Piccolo procedure on such premature infants, and everything has to happen with extraordinary coordination.

“It takes an entire team — cardiologists, neonatologists, anesthesiologists, cath-lab nurses, and respiratory therapists working together,” said Dr. Lahiri. “We keep the baby warm, move quickly, and limit time outside the NICU. It’s a very controlled process.”

The procedure took about 30 minutes. When it was done, Saylor’s heart finally had a chance to rest and grow stronger.

Her condition began improving almost immediately.

“She could eat more, her lungs stopped filling with fluid, and she started growing like a weed,” Kara said.

Overcoming Every Challenge

As Saylor grew stronger, she faced another common complication of prematurity — retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is a condition in which blood vessels in the back of the eye grow abnormally due to oxygen exposure outside the womb.

“At 34 weeks, she developed stage 2 ROP in both eyes,” Kara said. “The doctors said it’s fairly common and can correct itself as she grows, especially as her oxygen levels come down.”

As Saylor grew, her care transitioned to the Oklahoma Children’s ‘Breathe Sooner’ bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) program for babies with evolving chronic lung disease due to premature birth. The ‘Breathe Sooner’ program, under the directorship of Dr. Mary E. Robbins, M.D., associate professor in the Section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at OU College of Medicine, is the only program of its kind in Oklahoma and one of only a few in the southwestern United States. Dietitians, physical therapists, speech therapists, pharmacists, respiratory therapists and neonatologists focused on supporting Saylor’s physical development by ensuring adequate respiratory support to feed by mouth.

By the time she was discharged on Sept. 18, Saylor’s oxygen support was minimal and she was drinking all her bottles on her own. By Thanksgiving, she was off oxygen entirely.

“Saylor’s lungs are growing, and she’s gaining about an ounce a day,” Kara said. “She’s doing so well, and we are preparing for her to have laser eye surgery to correct the ROP.”

A Team That Felt Like Family

For Kara and Tyler, the weeks in the NICU were filled with anxiety, hope, and gratitude.

“The doctors and nurses at OU Health saved our daughter,” Kara said. “There were ups and downs, but they were always there. They explained everything, they cared for us like family, and they never gave up on her. I don’t think Saylor would have made it anywhere else.”

Growing, Smiling, Thriving

Although Saylor was born six months ago, her corrected age (the age she would be if she had been born on her due date) is only 6 weeks — and she’s thriving.

Every ounce she gains and every smile she gives are reminders of the care that kept her alive.

“They saved my daughter’s life,” Kara said. “We’ll be forever grateful.”

Excellence and Compassion, Working Together

The neonatal intensive care and pediatric cardiology teams at Oklahoma Children’s provide advanced, life-saving care for the tiniest and most complex patients in the region and offers the only program with a 24/7 in-house neonatologist.

Using innovations like the Piccolo device and dedicated programs like the neonatal hemodynamics and ‘Breathe Sooner’ programs, our teams can treat fragile preemies with minimally invasive procedures that once required open surgery, and support optimal outcomes — allowing babies like Saylor to heal faster, grow stronger, and thrive.

Your Oklahoma Children’s NICU team brings years of experience and advanced training to caring for Oklahoma’s premature and seriously ill full-term infants, including your new little one. You’ll work with an extensive team of experts, including board-certified and fellowship-trained neonatologists, perinatologists, neonatal anesthesiologists, pediatric and neonatal surgeons, pediatricians, resident and attending physicians, and neonatal nurse practitioners.

Oklahoma Children’s OU Health provides lifesaving care for moms and babies facing the most complex challenges.

Learn more about our specialized neonatal and perinatal services or connect with our team today by calling (405) 271-4211