Cleveland Clinic performs 1st in utero surgery on fetus, repairs spina bifida before baby’s birth

Tribune Media Wire Service - Fox6now.com ^ | 6/19/2019 | Unknown

[Vendome]

- The Cleveland Clinic has joined other top hospitals in North America and can now offer in utero surgery. The hospital announced Wednesday that after more than a year of preparations they have successfully completed Northern Ohio’s first ever surgery on a fetus inside the uterus to repair spina bifida.

“The operation on the fetus in the uterus, I’m directing and in charge of, and the guidance of where we should open the uterus, the exposure of the baby,” said Dr. Darrell Cass, Director of Fetal Surgery in the Cleveland Clinic’s Fetal Center.

Cass and a team of more than a dozen other specialists including pediatric neurosurgeons, a fetal cardiologist and pediatric anesthesiologists performed the surgery on a nearly 23-week fetus with the birth defect spina bifida in February.

[pilipo]

Your faith has been sorely tested.

And rewarded. Thanks BB

[pilipo]

Thank you, esp. for the prayers.

[5th MEB]

My wife taught Special Ed (Orthopedically Handicapped) for 32 years, she had quite a few of these students over her time in teaching.
She was thrilled to hear about this success, much better to repair this problem in utero, where the child still has the protection of the mother and her immune system.

[5th MEB]

Yes surgical correction is possible, but much harder on the child.
A lot more opportunity for infection and outside physical trauma.