First Brain Surgery of Baby Still in Womb

For the first time in the world, groundbreaking brain surgery on a baby who is still in the womb was performed by a team of American doctors. The still-born baby was suffering from a rare blood vessel abnormality inside the brain, reported CNN.

The brain operation of the baby still in the womb was performed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.

This rare brain condition is known as “Venus of Galen malformation.” This condition occurs when the blood vessel that carries blood from the brain to the heart doesn’t develop correctly.

According to CBS News, Baby Denver was growing normally inside her mom’s womb when, during a routine ultrasound, doctors discovered that the baby had this rare blood vessel abnormality inside the brain. Many babies with this condition develop heart failure or brain damage and often don’t survive.

So, at 34 weeks of pregnancy, a team at Boston Children’s and the Brigham were able to repair her malformation surgically while she was still in the uterus. The surgeons used ultrasound guidance, a needle similar to those used for amniocentesis, and tiny coils that were placed directly into the abnormal blood vessels to stop blood flow.