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Hospital: Baby Noor's new surgery 'successful'

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Baby Noor arrives on New Year's Eve in Atlanta, Georgia, where she underwent life-saving surgery.

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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Baby Noor, the 5-month-old Iraqi girl discovered by U.S. soldiers in Baghdad and brought to the United States for life-saving medical treatment, underwent "successful" shunt surgery Friday, according to the hospital.

"The infant is resting comfortably at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and will remain there overnight," the hospital said in a written statement.

The baby, who suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal vertebrae do not form completely around the spinal cord, had successful orthopedic surgery just two weeks ago. (Details)

On Friday, a shunt, or tube, was used to drain the fluid that had collected beneath the outer membrane covering her brain, a condition known as a subdural effusion, the hospital said.

CT scans and MRIs detected the fluid buildup on Wednesday.

Dr. Roger Hudgins inserted the tube "into the left side of Baby Noor's subdural face, allowing one-way flow to the tube's other end in the abdominal cavity, where the fluid will be absorbed," the hospital said.

Since her initial lifesaving surgery in January to realign and enclose her spinal column, shunt surgery remained a possibility.

According to Hudgins, Baby Noor's prognosis remains very good. But doctors say she will most likely not be able to use her legs and will have to use a wheelchair.

Doctors have said she would have died without surgery for her spina bifida.

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