This has been news successful case of a pioneering technique in fetal spina bifida surgery, a congenital malformation of the neural tube that is characterized in that one or several posterior vertebral arches have not fused correctly during pregnancy and the spinal cord is left without bone protection.
It is a malformation that can have serious consequences for the child's health, the higher the vertebra or affected vertebrae, the more serious they will be. Neurological disorders, visualization difficulties, memory, concentration, alterations of the musculoskeletal system and urinary and intestinal control ...
Therefore it is important to prevent spina bifida, and in this sense folic acid during pregnancy is an indispensable help. When the malformation is detected before the baby is born, fetal surgery reduces spina bifida complications.
The good news is that it has been carried out successfully a pioneering technique that reduces operating time and risks for the fetus The classic treatment consisted of postnatal closure of the problem. But there is a risk that the nerves (being in contact with the amniotic fluid) will deteriorate and stop working.
The medical and research staff of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona decided to carry out a prenatal treatment. When the fetus was inside the mother's uterus, the defect was closed by covering the medulla so that it was not in contact with the amniotic fluid.
The intervention consisted of opening the uterus as if it were a caesarean section so that the back of the fetus was exposed, correcting the problem and then closing the uterus again. The specialists also employed a pioneering technique in the world that reduces handling time on the fetus (45 minutes) and is less aggressive.
The new technique is to cover the medulla with a special patch composed of collagen and elastin (and not with the fetus's own skin). As the fetus grows, the skin will eventually replace the patch. When the baby is born, the problem is already closed and covered by skin.
In addition, the Vall d'Hebron team works to make the intervention less invasive, by fetoscopy, thus avoiding opening the mother's uterus and entering through a single point, as well as applying stem cells to achieve a regeneration of the tissues, what is already being achieved in experimental animals.
Yesterday we could see the baby, who is already five months old and is called Esther, who although he will have to have a medical test for life, he will be able to walk in the future and will increase his ability to control the sphincters thanks to the success of this new technique of fetal surgery for spina bifida.
