Unprecedented Brain Surgery Performed on Unborn Baby in the Womb
Researchers have successfully performed the first-ever in-utero surgery to repair a fetus's life-threatening brain malformation, called vein of Galen malformation, preventing heart failure and brain injury after birth. Using ultrasound guidance, researchers repaired the malformation deep in the brain of a fetus before birth. The infant has required no medication to treat heart failure and no postnatal surgery to treat the malformation since birth. The procedure has the potential to mark a paradigm shift in managing vein of Galen malformation, reducing the risk of long-term brain damage, disability, or death among these infants.