‘She’s wiggling her toes’: New fetal surgery for spina bifida may be safer for both baby and mom
LOS ANGELES — Gilda Giron was 13 weeks pregnant and barely showing when she started to worry. Something wasn’t right with her ultrasound image. At 16 weeks, Gilda and her husband, Arnuf, received the devastating news: Their baby had myelomeningocele, the most severe form of spina bifida. Her tiny spinal cord was open, exposed and leaking fluid. The birth defect meant she had nerve damage that could cause paralysis and an inability to control her bladder or bowels. She faced spending life with a shunt implanted in her brain.
Many parents who receive a diagnosis of spina bifida early in pregnancy choose to terminate. But Arnuf and Gilda, who works with disabled people, were determined to keep their baby. They turned to the next option: surgery in the womb to repair the defect.
The fetal surgery for spina bifida is complex. Because it requires cutting through the mother’s abdomen and uterus, like a C-section, it involves a long recovery, something that would have been difficult for Gilda, who has two other young children. The “open surgery” carries some risk of premature birth and complications during birth. It also means having a cesarean, for this and any future births because of the risk of uterine rupture.
In their extensive research, the couple found a few hospitals — Texas Children’s and
