While medicine continues to progress in parallel with the developing technology, another first has been achieved in the past days. Brain surgery was performed on a fetus inside the womb for the first time at the Center for Cerebrovascular Surgery and Intervention at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The surgeons corrected the ‘vascular malformation’ (vascular anomaly) that can lead to fatal results in the developing brain with the operation. The fetus was just 34 weeks old.
Let’s detail the situation that requires surgical operation in the fetus:
In the examinations, a vessel with Galen malformation was seen in the fetus. This causes the arteries in the brain to connect directly to the veins instead of passing through the capillaries first, as it should, and can lead to fatal results.
What makes the condition deadly is actually blood pressure. While the capillaries take on the task of slowing down blood pressure, the direct flow of blood into the veins due to malformation can cause extremely high blood pressure.
As a result of this situation, especially after birth and birth, the brain and heart go under excessive pressure. This pressure can lead to pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and other vital conditions.
How was the operation done?
The operation took place under the supervision of the US Food and Drug Administration. Using ultrasound, the surgeons reached the operation area in the uterus and fetus, occluded the high-pressure blood vessels in the fetal brain and prevented the high pressure that would occur during birth.
Thanks to this operation, which was performed just a few weeks before the birth, the baby was born healthy. The team shared that the baby was in good health 6 weeks after birth, and there was no abnormality in the brain.
What is the significance of this operation?
Until now, all operations for Galen malformation had to be performed after the birth of the baby, risking the birth process. However, the new operation showed that this operation can be performed while still in the womb, indicating that risks such as long-term brain damage, disability or death can be avoided beforehand.
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