US Team Repairs Baby Theo’s Gastroschisis at 26 Weeks, First British Fetus in Trial
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 3
US Team Repairs Baby Theo’s Gastroschisis at 26 Weeks, First British Fetus in Trial
1 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 3
Summary
Five-month-old Theo is thriving after surgeons in Texas repaired his complex gastroschisis in the womb at 26 weeks, making him the first British baby to undergo the trial procedure.
Using keyhole surgery, Dr. Michael Belfort’s team partially exposed the uterus, replaced amniotic fluid with CO2, and pushed Theo’s intestines back into his abdomen before stitching it closed.
Complex gastroschisis can require up to six months in neonatal intensive care, multiple surgeries and IV feeding for up to two years, and still carries a one-in-10 death risk.
Theo was the third baby worldwide in the first-of-its-kind clinical trial; after the November operation he was carried to term and born vaginally in Texas in February with no reported fetal-surgery complications.
Great Ormond Street Hospital referred the family to Texas Children’s, and UK surgeon Paolo de Coppi said the procedure could be offered more widely in Britain if the trial succeeds.
How did a controversial pre-birth Botox injection help Texas surgeons save an unborn baby from a fatal organ defect?
Could replacing amniotic fluid with carbon dioxide during experimental fetal surgery become the new global standard for saving unborn babies?
Why are major insurers refusing to cover the groundbreaking in-womb surgery that successfully cured a baby's severe abdominal defect?
Landmark In-Utero Gastroschisis Repair: Clinical Trial Results, Ethical Challenges, and the Global Future of Fetal Surgery
Overview
This report highlights the groundbreaking journey of Baby Theo, who was diagnosed with complex gastroschisis—a condition where his intestines grew outside his body. After referral from Great Ormond Street Hospital, his mother received a special Botox injection in Belgium to relax Theo’s abdominal muscles. Then, at Texas Children’s Hospital, surgeons performed a minimally invasive keyhole surgery to return his organs inside his abdomen and close the defect. This innovative approach, which reduces risks for both mother and baby, demonstrates how international collaboration and advanced fetal surgery can transform outcomes for babies with severe birth defects.