UK, two unborn babies undergo spinal surgery

A few weeks before even taking their first breath, the spinal surgery of two babies was carefully repaired by surgeons during the first operations of this type in the United Kingdom.

Spina Bifida surgeries were successfully performed by a team at London College University Hospital this summer on two babies while they were still in the womb.

Spina bifida is usually treated after birth, but research shows that repairing the baby's spine earlier can help stop cerebrospinal fluid loss and improve long-term health and mobility outcomes. .

Frankie Lavis, of Plymouth, was the first baby to undergo a revolutionary surgery for spina bifida while he was still in the womb in Belgium in 2013 (Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust / PA)

Both operations were conducted by a team of 30 people, coordinated by UCL Professor Anne David, who has been working for three years to bring the procedure to British patients.

She added that mothers had to travel to the United States, Belgium or Switzerland beforehand for the procedure.

"It's fantastic – women are no longer forced to leave the UK," said Professor David.

"They can have their family with them. There is less expenditure. So, all the good things. "

The surgical team at UCLH and the Great Ormond Street Hospital had already traveled to Belgium to train at a center in Leuven, where more than 40 such operations have already taken place.

Spina bifida is a condition that develops during pregnancy when the bones of the spine do not form properly, creating a space that leaves the spinal cord unprotected.

This can cause the baby's cerebrospinal fluid to leak and compromise brain development, potentially leading to long-term health and mobility problems.

More than 200 children are born with spina bifida each year in the UK, according to the charity Shine.

The deployment of pre-natal surgery in the UK comes after an important US trial has confirmed the benefits of the procedure for health and mobility.

This trial showed a 50% reduction in the need to have shunts inserted into the brain to drain the fluids, a procedure that causes long-term complications.

Brain and motor function is improved for non-shunted children, researchers said.

In the US study, children were also more independent after the operation, said Professor David.

"Some children who had grown up after fetal surgery were walking and you would not expect them to walk if they did not," she said.

"It is therefore important to be able to offer surgery to patients here in the UK."

During the procedure, an incision is made in the uterus at a specific location to access the baby's spine and the stitch was filled with spina bifida.

The surgery, which lasts about 90 minutes, carries a risk of premature delivery, but less invasive keyhole methods are under study.

"We gave the mother drugs that help to soften them, but the risk still exists," said Professor David.

She added that a "fetoscopic" approach is being developed in the hope of further minimizing maternal complications.

The surgeries will be available to the appropriate patients through the newly created ANC at UCLH and GOSH, made possible by funding of £ 450,000 from hospital charities.

"These essential funds have trained the surgical team and will fund the surgeries of the first 10 patients," said UCLH Clinical Director of Women's Health Donald Peebles.

Frankie Lavis, of Plymouth, became the first British baby to undergo the revolutionary surgery in Belgium in 2013.