US doctors perform first-ever brain surgery on baby before birth
What's the story
A team of doctors in Boston, United States, successfully performed groundbreaking brain surgery on a baby while she was still in the womb in March, reported CNN. The surgery was conducted to treat a rare brain condition known as the vein of Galen malformation (VOGM). The baby was born on March 17, two days after the procedure, and her condition was stable.
Details
Doctors performed surgery at 34 weeks of pregnancy
Reportedly, the baby, Denver Coleman, grew normally in her mother's womb until doctors discovered a rare blood vessel abnormality inside the brain. Doctors said that most babies with this abnormality suffer heart failure or brain damage. At 34 weeks of pregnancy, a team of doctors from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital repaired her malformation and saved her from brain damage.
Disease
VOGM has 40% mortality rate among babies
According to reports, the utero surgery that the doctors performed has been used before for other conditions but never for VOGM. Dr. Darren Orbach, a radiologist at Boston Children's Hospital, told CNN that the condition is treated after the child is born, which is often too late. The doctor added that the condition has up to 60% illness and 40% mortality rates among babies.