Photo: Surgeons during the procedure
U.S. doctors perform first-ever brain surgery on baby inside womb
Medical doctors have carried out the first-ever brain surgery on a baby with a deadly genetic disorder while it is still inside the mother’s womb.
The Daily Mail reports that the yet-to-be-born baby was diagnosed with a vein of Galen malformation at 30 weeks and children born with this kind of condition have a 30 percent chance of dying before age 11.
The surgery which involved cutting into the mother’s womb and the baby’s skull, before operating on the developing brain, was carried out by a ten-man team of doctors at the Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, U.S.
The operation requires slicing into the pregnant woman’s abdomen and using an ultrasound to identify the artery and guide the surgery.
After the operation, the baby’s mother gave birth to a healthy baby boy two days later without birth defects.
The UK’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be working with researchers to check the surgery’s safety and the possibility of expanding it for similar conditions.
One of the doctors at Boston Childen Hospital, Darren Orbach, a surgeon, described the procedure as having the potential to mark a paradigm shift in managing the Vein of Galen Malformation.
He said, “We were thrilled to see that the aggressive decline usually seen after birth simply did not appear.
“We are pleased to report that at six weeks, the infant is progressing remarkably well, on no medications, eating normally, gaining weight and is back home. There are no signs of any negative effects on the brain.”
