
Abi Peters (pictured with her parents Louise and David), born at 23 weeks at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, was given a 'less than a 10 per cent chance' of survival and is believed to be the youngest patient to survive major abdominal surgery. She weighed 1.3lbs (609g) - about two-thirds of a bag of sugar - and was smaller than surgeon Zahid Mukhtar's hand (inset). However, extraordinary as Abi's story undoubtedly is, the survival of a baby born at just 23 weeks is becoming less and less unusual. As many as 70 per cent of babies delivered at 23 weeks now survive at some hospitals, figures show. Mail.