• About
  • Contact
Saturday, July 5, 2025
No Result
View All Result
Londoner News
  • Home
  • London
  • Britain
  • Europe
  • America
  • International
  • Submit Article
  • Other
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Science
  • Home
  • London
  • Britain
  • Europe
  • America
  • International
  • Submit Article
  • Other
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Science
No Result
View All Result
Londoner News
No Result
View All Result
Home Health

Spina bifida: Keyhole surgery repairs baby spine in womb

by The Editor
May 18, 2019
in Health
0
Spina bifida: Keyhole surgery repairs baby spine in womb
0
SHARES
3
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Media playback is unsupported on your device

In a UK first, doctors have used keyhole surgery to successfully repair the spine of a baby with spina bifida while it was still inside the womb.

Surgeons at King's College Hospital say the procedure is not a cure, but could be the difference between some children learning to walk or not.

Sherrie Sharp and her son Jaxson had the operation 27 weeks into the pregnancy.

Spina bifida was diagnosed after the routine 20-week pregnancy scans.

They showed Jaxson's spine and spinal cord were not forming correctly.

Gaps in the developing spine meant the cord was bulging out of his back and was left exposed to the amniotic fluid in the womb.

This damages the crucial nerves in the spinal cord and could lead to paralysis, a loss of sensation in the legs and problems controlling the bladder and bowels.

The longer the spinal cord is left exposed, the greater the damage.

Sherrie, 29, and from West Sussex, said the news was a shock, but an abortion was a "definite no".

She decided to have pioneering surgery to correct the defect, although there was the risk of the baby arriving prematurely.

Sherrie told the BBC: "I wanted to do the best for my baby, I wanted him to have a better life and there's nothing wrong with that."

How the procedure worked

Doctors sedated Sherrie, and the anaesthetic also crossed the placenta to prevent Jaxson, who was still a tiny foetus at this point, from wriggling.

Surgeons made three small incisions in Sherrie's bump and then a thin camera and small surgical tools were inserted into her womb.

Then, during a three-hour operation, surgeons put the exposed spinal cord back in place and used a patch to cover Jaxson's spinal cord.

Dr Marta Santorum-Perez, a consultant at the Fetal Medicine Unit at King's, told the BBC: "We are operating on very delicate structures – the foetus's nerves.

"The foetus is very small and inside the womb, so obviously it's a very delicate operation."

Life-changing

Until recently, parents had to wait until a child was born for corrective surgery or find treatment abroad.

But the evidence suggests that operating during the second trimester reduces nerve damage and the long-term health consequences of spina bifida.

At the end of last year, the first in-womb surgery for spina bifida took place in the UK. It involved invasive surgery of opening the mother's abdomen and uterus to perform the operation.

Mr Bassel Zebian, a consultant neurosurgeon at King's, said the keyhole approach was better for the mother and reduced the risk of the uterus rupturing in subsequent pregnancies.

He said that operating in the womb also Read More – Source

[contf] [contfnew]

BBC

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]

The Editor

Next Post
NHS ‘should not prescribe acne drug’

NHS ‘should not prescribe acne drug’

Recommended

Amanda Holden hits back at trolls who slam her for kissing daughter Hollie on the lips: B**locks to them!

Amanda Holden hits back at trolls who slam her for kissing daughter Hollie on the lips: B**locks to them!

6 years ago
Fire ravages Paul Newman’s western-style children’s camp in Connecticut

Fire ravages Paul Newman’s western-style children’s camp in Connecticut

4 years ago

Popular News

    Connect with us

    About Us

    We bring you the best Premium WordPress Themes that perfect for news, magazine, personal blog, etc. Check our landing page for details.

    Category

    • America
    • Britain
    • Entertainment
    • Europe
    • Health
    • International
    • latest news
    • London
    • Markets
    • Science
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Uncategorized
    • Women

    Site Links

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
    • About
    • Contact

    © 2020 londonernews

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • Science
    • Travel
    • Tech
    • Health

    © 2020 londonernews