Labib developed a complex surgical plan that required two surgeries to remove the tumor without damaging the delicate nerves.
When Flores underwent an MRI the morning of the first surgery, the technician positioned the camera a little lower than necessary.
It was wrapped around her spinal cord and had invaded the vertebrae in her neck, Labib said.
"They told me if they hadn't seen it, I could have been paralyzed," Flores told CBS News.
Karla Flores was first diagnosed with a chordoma on her brain stem (the center red mass).
The tumor was successfully removed through a traditional neurosurgery and another procedure that went through Flores' nose.
Once the bones were removed, Labib and head and neck surgeon Dr. Andrea Hebert drilled through Flores' vertebrae to reach the tumor. »
