Unborn babies with spina bifida operated on for first time in UK

Pioneering pre-birth surgery to repair spinal cord in the womb brings fresh hope to parents

SURGEONS have operated on unborn babies with spina bifida for the first time in Britain.

Weeks before they even took their first breaths, two babies had their spinal cords delicately repaired while still in the womb.

The surgeries were successfully performed by a team at London’s University College Hospital (UCLH) this summer, it emerged yesterday.

Spina bifida is usually treated after birth but research shows repairing the baby’s spine earlier can stop the loss of spinal fluid and lead to better longterm health and mobility outcomes.

A 30-strong team carried out the two operations, coordinated by UCLH’S Prof Anne David, who has been working for three years to bring the procedure to the UK. Until now, mothers in Britain have had to travel to the US, Belgium or Switzerland for the procedure. “It’s fantastic. Women now don’t have to travel out of the UK,” she said.

The surgery team from UCLH and the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GSOH) had been travelling to Belgium to train at a facility in Leuven, where more than 40 such operations have taken place. Spina bifida is a condition that develops during pregnancy when the bones of the spine do not form properly. It can cause a baby’s spinal fluid to leak and put brain development at risk.

More than 200 children are born with spina bifida every year in the UK, according to charity Shine.

The roll-out of the pre-birth surgery in the UK comes after a major US trial confirmed the health and mobility benefits of the procedure.

That trial showed a 50per cent reduction in the need to have shunts inserted in the brain to drain fluid, a procedure that carries long-term complications. Brain and motor functioning are improved for non-shunted children, researchers said.

“There were some children who had grown up following fetal surgery who were walking and you wouldn’t expect them to be walking if they hadn’t had it,” Prof David said.

The 90-minute surgery carries a risk of premature labour but less invasive keyhole methods are being explored.

The surgeries will be available through the newly established Centre for Prenatal Therapy at UCLH and GOSH, made possible by funding of £450,000 from the hospitals’ charities.  Ministers last night announced a consultation to investigate folic acid being routinely added to flour to prevent birth defects.

The scheme, which is to look at fortifying standard white flour, prompted Coeliac UK to accuse ministers of ignoring the increasing number of people who adhere to a gluten-free diet.

Steve Brine, public health minister, said: “We have agreed that now is the right time to explore whether fortification in flour is the right approach for the UK.”