Unborn baby’s spine op is a first for Africa
18 April 2019 - 08:00
By KATHARINE CHILD
Image: MediClinic Morningside The unborn baby with spina bifida is operated on to improve the likelihood of walking one day and decrease disability.
A 25-week-old unborn Johannesburg baby has become the first foetus in Africa to receive anaesthetic and undergo groundbreaking “keyhole” surgery to the spine.
The four-hour procedure, which involved removing the womb and resting it on the mother’s skin, was performed by a team led by US Baylor College of Medicine professor Mike Belfort, who was born and trained in SA.
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