News: Long Island Baby Receives Surgery in Womb
(Long Island, N.Y.) The tenth baby who underwent a rare in-womb heart procedure last June was reunited this week with the doctors who performed the surgery. The baby’s heart is now said to be in perfect condition. The fetus received the surgery after only three months of development and was barely six inches long with a heart the size of a coin.
The lifesaving procedure was the first of its kind to be performed in our area. The surgery was performed nearly sixteen months ago at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. The delicate heart surgery, known as in utero pericardiocentesis, involves correcting a buildup of fluid around the protective sac around the heart.
The procedure was performed by a team of fetal experts and was headed by Dr. Nidhi Vohra. The mother, upon learning that her child would need the procedure, agreed while claiming that she wanted the best. The team responded by telling her that she already had the best doctor qualified to perform the surgery.
The doctors used a long needle, and with the aid of ultrasound technology, located the tiny heart to extract a half-teaspoon of fluid. The doctors described this amount as significant in relation to the size of the baby’s fragile heart. Sources claimed that the procedure lasted about a minute.
There are other forms of fetal surgery that involve completely opening the uterus and operating on the fetus. The first successful fetal surgery was performed in San Francisco in 1981 and sparked an ethical debate. The surgery, which was performed on twins, would pose a risk to the healthy sibling.
In 1999 the most famous fetal photograph was snapped as Michael Clancy, a five-month-old fetus, held the doctor’s hand during open fetal surgery. The procedure was performed at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The surgery relieved effects of an opening in the baby’s spine.
Sources reported that the mother and father were grateful for being older parents. If they would have attempted to have their child earlier the procedure would not have been available. The new mother also said that, at her age, she only had about a two percent chance of having another child.
