In Boston, United States, a team of surgeons successfully performed a delicate operation on an unborn child while it was still in its mother’s womb. The goal? Treat a cerebral vascular malformation that affects the fetus, a vein of Galen aneurysm. The results of the operation were published on Thursday, May 4, in the scientific journal Stroke.
This disease, which occurs when the vein of Galen does not develop properly, can lead to a malformation that causes “a significant increase in flow and pressure in the veins of the malformation and the brain,” reports the CHU Lausanne website. , Swiss.
“She was an ideal candidate”
The baby’s parents, Derek and Kenyatta Coleman, originally from Louisiana, spoke to CNN. Their son’s malformation was reported to them in the 30th week of pregnancy, during an ultrasound session.
“He told me there was a problem with the baby’s brain development, but also that his heart was enlarged,” the young mother told CNN. Once the diagnosis was established, the couple decided to participate in an unprecedented clinical trial, conducted by two hospitals, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. The operation took place on March 15.
“She was an ideal candidate. The baby didn’t have a heart failure problem yet, there was no brain damage either. But the malformation was getting bigger and bigger,” Dr. Carol Benson, a radiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told BFMTV. , who participated in the operation.
Then to continue: “If we had left it like that, the baby could have had very big brain problems, or could have died.”
many precautions
To carry it out, important precautions were taken. First of all, it was necessary to make sure that the child was in the correct position, that is, with the head turned towards the abdominal wall of his mother. Once the desired position was reached, a first injection was made to keep the child in place, and a second to reduce pain.
A catheter was then placed in the child through a needle through the mother’s abdominal wall, with the intention of filling the vein and thereby slowing blood flow and reducing pressure. The surgeons were guided by ultrasound. Immediately after the operation, the boy’s vital signs improved.
Denver Coleman was finally born two days later, at 34 weeks pregnant, compared to 39 to 41 for a full-term pregnancy. After her birth, the little girl did not need any specific treatment, such as medication to support her heart function. Two months after her birth, she is doing well and her neurological exams are normal.
“The baby is fine, she is not taking any treatment, no surgery is planned. She does not need heart machines, she is breathing on her own. She is eating well, she is growing,” Dr. Carole Benson told BFMTV.
Hope for future sick children
Although performing an intrauterine operation on a child is not a revolution, the one performed in Boston is one of the first to treat an aneurysm of the vein of Galen. Children in whom this malformation is detected are usually treated after birth.
But that often happens too late. Forty percent of children affected by the disease die shortly after birth, Dr. Darren Orbach, a radiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told CNN when they do not have severe neurological disorders. Treating the malformation directly in the mother’s womb thus constitutes immense hope.
Source: BFM TV
