A newborn boy at the center of a high-profile custody dispute between his biological parents and their surrogate mother underwent the first of three scheduled open-heart surgeries on Monday, according to legal representatives for the parties.

The child, named Rumi by his parents, was born August 12 in Texas with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital defect in which the left side of the heart fails to develop properly. Without intervention, the condition stops normal blood flow and can cause death within days or weeks, according to data from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Medical teams cleared the newborn for a Norwood procedure on Friday following examinations and imaging, as reported by CBS News. The complex palliative operation took place Monday morning and is the initial step in a three-stage surgical process typically required within a child’s first few years of life.

“Rumi is now recuperating under the loving care of his parents and his heroic team of doctors, nurses, and medical staff,” Lee Budner, an attorney representing parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, told the publication on Monday. “This is the last update on Rumi’s health that his family intends to share. His condition remains critical and complex, and his family seeks privacy in caring for their son on his long road to recovery.”

The legal battle escalated months prior to Rumi’s birth after a 20-week diagnosis revealed the heart defect. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who intervened in the proceedings, alleged that Ahmed and Gilkar asked the surrogate, Alaska resident McKenna West, to terminate the pregnancy upon learning of the condition.

West refused the request and traveled to Texas, leading Paxton to secure a court order mandating life-saving treatment for the infant upon delivery. The order granted medical decision-making authority exclusively to Ahmed and Gilkar.

In court documents filed in Texas, the California couple denied claims that they ever intended to withhold medical treatment. Ahmed stated in filings that physicians initially could not confirm whether the child would be an eligible candidate for surgery, noting that the parents had consistently sought to consult with medical staff to make informed choices. Budner further characterized the claims made by West and Paxton as “political theater” in a statement to The Texas Tribune.

A separate temporary restraining order obtained by the couple prevents West from seeing or holding the child.

Lincoln Davis Wilson, an attorney representing West, told CBS News that his client planned to challenge the parentage orders under state statutes, asserting that Texas law recognizes the woman who gives birth as the legal mother. West had previously referred to the infant as Gabriel.

Contracts between intended parents and surrogates typically outline agreements regarding medical care and termination, but such clauses are generally unenforceable in court, according to University of Texas School of Law professor Rachel Rebouché.

Rebouché noted that while Texas law allowed state courts wide latitude to intervene to prevent the denial of life-saving medical care to a newborn, surrogacy disputes of this nature remained extremely rare.

The Cleveland Clinic notes that subsequent surgeries for hypoplastic left heart syndrome are generally scheduled between 4 to 6 months of age, with a third procedure taking place between 18 months and 5 years.

The Independent has contacted Budner, the attorney representing Rumi’s parents, for comment.