A team of Canadian doctors have conducted world’s first in-womb heart surgery on a baby boy in Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
According to a Daily Mail report, baby Sebastian was diagnosed with two severe congenital heart defects in the womb. There was no adequate circulation of oxygen and blood in his body.
His parents, Christopher Havill and Kristine Barry, were warned of the complications and were told that he would be born ‘blue and silent’.
But, to everyone’s surprise, Sebastian was born ‘pink and screaming’ on 23 May post the in-womb heart surgery.
Dozens of doctors were involved in the surgery which opened up the baby’s heart valves while he was still in the womb. The surgery which happened on 18 May gave the doctors enough time to deliver the baby via cesarean section as per the report.
The procedure involved inserting balloon-like contraption into Sebastian’s heart to connect the two chambers. The surgical needle, guided by an ultrasound, was inserted into the mother’s womb and into his heart.
A 3.5 mm hole was made in his heart which allowed free circulation of blood and oxygen.
While there have been cases of in-utero surgery before, this is the first instance of an in-utero balloon atrial septoplasty.
A week after his delivery, the doctors performed an open-heart surgery to permanently repair his heart.
Though Sebastian will need regular check-ups in future, the family is happy and the baby healthy right now!
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