Dr. Max Gomez: Brooklyn Newborn Defies Odds, Heads Home For Christmas

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Having newborn babies home for their first Christmas is special for any family, but for one Brooklyn mom this will be a very special holiday.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, one of a pair of newborn twins has defied the odds.

Little Justice Smith and his twin sister were born prematurely four months ago.

Nevaeh was just fine, but Justice was born with extremely rare, multiple intestinal problems. Surgeons at New York Presbyterian Hospital put him back together and got him home for Christmas.

He's a little small for his age, weighing just 8-lbs, but otherwise he's just as happy and healthy as his twin sister Nevaeh. It's hard to believe that four months ago Justice was born with a life-threatening birth defect.

"His intestines had formed outside of his belly and had been floating in the amniotic fluid," Dr. Steven Stylianos, New York Presbyterian Children's Hospital said, "The opening was quite small, they were in jeopardy, and also there were two blockages in the intestines."

It was a scary moment for Justice's mother Antanise congress.

"Very scary. I had no information. i went into this blindsided, not knowing what was about to happen," she said.

Fortunately, the problem was detected during a routine ultrasound, so Surgeon-In-Chief, Dr. Stylianos and his team were in the delivery room.

"We were waiting for him when he was born and our first intervention occurred within minutes of his birth," Dr. Stylianos said.

First, the opening in Justice's Belly had to be widened and then his intestines were placed into a plastic sleeve to keep them moist.

Then, twice a day for a week, doctors gently pushed his bowel back into his belly. It was during this time that Antanise got to see her son for the first time.

"Very scary. To be honest I didn't know what was gonna happen. I didn't know if it was gonna be my only time being able to see him. I didn't know anything. I just left it that every moment that I did get to see him, that I would cherish him," she said.

Doctors had to cut out and repair the blockages that justice was born with. It took a whole, but slowly his intestines started working and as you can see Justice is happy healthy and most importantly eating every three hours to confirm his intestines are working correctly.

"This is the best Christmas ever. I don't care if I get nothing, if there's nothing under the tree I have him and her and that's all I need," Antanise said.

The combination of malformations called gastroschisis only happens once every 50,000 births, so Justice really beat the odds.

Dr. Stylianos said that other than a little scar on his stomach, Justice will be able to eat, grow, and play like any other child.

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