Medical doctors have performed a first-ever brain surgery on a baby with a deadly genetic disorder while it is still inside the mother’s womb.
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 per cent chance of dying before age 11, Daily Mail reported on Thursday.
The surgery which involved cutting into the womb, the baby’s skull and then 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, United States.
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.
TRIBUNE