©Filip Mroz via Unsplash
A London mother underwent groundbreaking surgery in the United States to help her unborn son, Theo, even before he was born. Doctors corrected a serious birth defect in utero in which the intestines grow outside the body, a condition known as gastroschisis.
Maisie Savage was 26 weeks pregnant when she underwent surgery in Texas, following a previous visit to UZ Leuven for a Botox injection into the fetus’s abdominal wall to relax the muscles and facilitate the procedure. The surgery took place at Texas Children’s Hospital as part of a clinical trial in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and KU Leuven. According to doctors, Theo is only the third child worldwide to undergo this procedure. During the procedure, the uterus was partially exposed, the amniotic fluid was replaced with carbon dioxide to create more space, and surgeons used laparoscopic surgery to gently push the organs back into the abdominal cavity. The surgery went without complications, and Theo was later born at full term in Texas; he is now five months old and growing well.
Gastroschisis is a rare but potentially serious congenital condition that, according to British hospital data, affects approximately one in 3,000 babies. In many cases, intensive care is still required after birth, including tube or IV feeding and corrective surgery. In complex cases, treatment can take months and sometimes even require a bowel transplant. Nevertheless, the prognosis in wealthy countries is generally good, with survival rates above 95 percent for many cases.
Miracle baby
For Theo’s parents, the diagnosis came as a shock. According to the BBC , Maisie and her partner Josh French called their son “a little miracle” and were relieved that the experimental treatment worked so well. The doctors involved view the procedure as promising. Professor Paolo De Coppi of GOSH says the goal is to offer this treatment in the United Kingdom as well in the future.
©Filip Mroz via Unsplash - Illustrative image.