Doctors perform pioneering womb surgery to save baby with rare birth defect

A team of specialist doctors has successfully performed a groundbreaking operation on an unborn baby to correct a life-threatening birth defect while he was still in the womb, marking a major milestone in fetal medicine.

The baby, Theo, who is now five months old and healthy, underwent the pioneering procedure at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston after being diagnosed with complex gastroschisis, a rare condition in which the abdominal wall fails to develop properly, leaving the intestines growing outside the body.

Theo’s mother, 29-year-old Maisie Savage from London, underwent the surgery when she was 26 weeks pregnant after being referred by specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in the United Kingdom.

According to reports, Theo became only the third baby in the world to benefit from the first-ever clinical trial aimed at repairing complex gastroschisis before birth.

The highly specialised procedure involved partially exposing the mother’s womb before surgeons drained the amniotic fluid and replaced it with carbon dioxide gas to create space for keyhole surgery.

Using minimally invasive techniques, surgeons carefully returned Theo’s exposed intestines into his abdomen before stitching the abdominal wall closed.

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The operation was completed without complications, allowing Maisie to continue her pregnancy for another 14 weeks before giving birth to Theo through vaginal delivery in February.

Dr. Michael Belfort, who led the fetal and paediatric surgery team at Texas Children’s Hospital, said both mother and baby recovered well, with no complications during or after the surgery.

“The mother, the baby, the surgery, the timing of the surgery, and the fact that we had zero complications during and after the fetal surgery is just remarkable,” Belfort said.

Gastroschisis affects approximately one in every 3,000 babies born in the United Kingdom each year. While many infants require corrective surgery after birth, prolonged stays in neonatal intensive care and months of intravenous nutritional support are often necessary.

In severe cases, babies may undergo multiple surgeries, require intestinal transplants and face a mortality rate of about 10 percent despite advanced medical care.

Theo’s parents, Maisie Savage and Josh French, both teachers, said they were unaware anything was wrong until a routine 20-week pregnancy scan revealed the condition.

Josh described the diagnosis as “incredibly scary,” while Maisie said the decision to travel to the United States for the experimental surgery was one of the biggest of their lives.

Before the operation, Maisie first travelled to Leuven University Hospital in Belgium, where specialists administered a Botox injection into Theo’s abdominal wall through the womb to relax the muscles and improve the chances of a successful repair.

She then relocated to Texas, where the landmark operation was carried out in November last year.

Although the surgery left Maisie with a scar larger than that of a Caesarean section and a difficult recovery while still pregnant, she said every moment of discomfort was worthwhile.

“It was a hard recovery, but it was worth it,” she said.

Josh added that the surgery completely transformed what could have been a devastating start to their son’s life.

“Everything they did completely reversed what could have been a really horrible start to his life. He’s just the best. He’s a completely normal baby, essentially,” he said.

Professor Paolo De Coppi, a paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital and head of stem cells and regenerative medicine at University College London, expressed optimism that the procedure could soon become available in the UK if the clinical trial continues to deliver positive results.

“We hope that we will be able to offer this to patients on a larger scale very soon,” he said.

Belfort also believes the success of the operation opens the door for more advanced fetal surgeries in the future, including procedures to treat congenital heart and lung conditions before birth.

“The inside of the uterus is now a new surgical space for innovation,” he said. “Spina bifida and gastroschisis are just the beginning. I believe we could eventually perform certain cardiac and lung surgeries in utero.”

Medical experts say the success of the trial could transform the treatment of severe congenital birth defects by intervening before birth, significantly improving survival rates and long-term health outcomes for affected babies.