Doctors conduct the operation.

Xinhua Hospital has conducted a successful Cesarean operation and heart surgery on a 28-week pregnant woman who had suffered an acute cardiovascular emergency.

Both the woman and the baby boy are doing well, officials said on Saturday.

Xinhua said it had received an emergency call from another hospital on September 27, reporting a pregnant woman with a sudden belly ache and dizziness would be transferred through a green channel.

A CT scan and ultrasound check found that the inner wall of her aorta had torn all the way from the heart to the belly. This meant the aorta was only covered by a thin outer wall. If it burst, the patient could have died from sudden blood loss.

"It is a fatal condition and the mortality rises by each hour," said Dr Ding Fangbao from Xinhua's cardiothoracic surgery department. "If there is no proper treatment within 48 hours, half patients can die."

The treatment is also risky.

After detailed discussion, doctors planned to conduct one surgery to fulfil two tasks, offering hope for both the baby and the patient.

Doctors conducted a Cesarean operation to deliver the baby while controlling bleeding and keeping the wound to the smallest scope. Then cardiothoracic surgeons took over.

The whole process from receiving the patient to fulfilling the entire surgery only took 12 hours.

The woman and her baby are in a stable condition. The woman is able to walk for rehabilitation, while the baby has grown from 1.2kg to 1.7kg.

The baby boy is growing steadily.