World's First Fetal Brain Surgery a Success: Baby Thriving.

Surgeons from Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital have successfully repaired a major malformation in the brain of a fetus using a surgical technique called embolization to treat a rare prenatal condition called vein of Galen malformation. The condition places significant stress on the cardiovascular system, which can lead to heart failure, hypertension in the arteries in the lungs and heart, and significant brain damage that results in neurological and cognitive impairment. The success of the procedure offers new hope for treating the condition before the risk of complications escalates, and the team is undertaking a clinical trial to gauge the possibility of treating the condition prior to birth.