[ad_1]
DALLAS – A team of doctors successfully operated an open operation on an unborn baby in his mother's womb, the first of its kind in North Texas, WFAA reported.
>> Read more new trends
The "open fetal surgery" on Uriah in June repaired the spine of an infant diagnosed with spina bifida while her mother was 18 weeks pregnant, the television channel reported.
"It's amazing, it's a great feeling," said Sarah Wowa, Uriah's mother.
Prowell and her boyfriend, Sean Kirby, were distressed to learn that the unborn baby had been diagnosed with a congenital malformation that prevented spinal cord formation and could lead to paralysis.
"We were both pretty helpless at first because I worried for his life, the road ahead of him," Kirby told WFAA.
However, doctors at the fetal care center at Medical City's Children's Hospital in Dallas seized the opportunity.
"At the time of my medical studies, none of that was done," said Kevin Magee, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine, at the WFAA. "Thinking it could be done today and with this quality of results is really exciting – exciting not for doctors but exciting for families and this little kid."
"We can intervene to save the baby's life or prevent persistent lesions in baby's organs that seriously compromise him for the rest of his life," Timothy Crombleholme of the Fetal Care Center told the television channel.
The surgery, while successful, did not eliminate the defect but repaired the damage before it became irreparable, reported the WFAA.
Uriah was born premature and had to stay in the hospital for a month. He came home two weeks ago.
"I think the most moving part of this whole process was waiting for him to come home to the hospital, it was very hard for me," Prowell said on television. "Now, I'm just happy it's here."
© 2018 Cox Media Group.
[ad_2]
Source link
