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Spina bifida: Keyhole surgery repairs baby spine in womb
By James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News
In a UK first, doctors have used keyhole surgery to repair the spine of a baby with spina bifida while it was still inside the womb.
Surgeons at King's College Hospital say the procedure is not a cure, but could be the difference between some children learning to walk or not.
Sherrie Sharp and her son Jaxson had the operation 27 weeks into the pregnancy.
Spina bifida was diagnosed after the routine 20-week pregnancy scans.
They showed Jaxson's spine and spinal cord were not forming correctly.
Gaps in the developing spine meant the cord was bulging out of his back and was left exposed to the amniotic fluid in the womb.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48253477
