CLEVELAND — Incredible!
The Cleveland Clinic is celebrating after releasing video of their surgeons successfully completing a groundbreaking operation to repair a spina bifida birth defect on a 23-week-old fetus.
Viewer discretion advised: The video in the player below contains actual footage of the surgery.
Although the operation took place back in February, officials with the Cleveland Clinic announced details of the surgery Wednesday.
The baby was born near full term on June 3.
Here’s how the operation was performed, according to a statement from the Clinic:
During the fetal repair surgery, a caesarean section-like incision is made and the mother’s uterus is exposed. An ultrasound is then used to locate the placenta and fetus. The uterus is opened 4.5 cm and the back of the fetus is exposed, showing the spina bifida lesion. The surgeons then carefully suture several individual layers of tissue in order to cover the defect. After the uterus is closed back up, the fetus remains in the womb for the remainder of the pregnancy and is ultimately born by caesarean section.
This groundbreaking procedure was a first-of-its-kind operation for the Cleveland Clinic and all of northern Ohio.
“Spina bifida is a birth defect that is most often discovered during the routine anatomy scan typically performed when a fetus is around 18 weeks old,” the Cleveland Clinic explained in a press release. “The condition affects the lowest part of the spine and occurs when the neural tube does not fully close, causing the backbone that protects the spinal cord not to form as it should. This often results in damage to the spinal cord and nerves and can even lead to brain damage.”
Mom and daughter are both doing well.
“By successfully repairing the defect before birth, we're allowing this child to have the best possible outcome and significantly improve her quality of life,” said Dr.Darrell Cass. “There are different measures of quality in determining success for fetal repairs and in this particular case, all metrics for maximum quality were achieved.”
The success of this surgery was based on two metrics – restoration of normal brain structure and the gestational age at birth.
“Although the surgery was a success, spina bifida is never cured,” said Dr. Cass. “Moving forward, the baby will require ongoing supportive care provided by a multidisciplinary team of caregivers in our Spina Bifida Clinic, which will involve neurology, urology, orthopedics, developmental pediatrics and neurosurgery, among other specialists.”