World's first brain surgery performed on a baby in the womb

Denver Coleman was born after brain surgery in the womb. groundbreaking operation.

The operation was performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. A blood vessel problem that could be fatal in the brain of a 34-week-old fetus needed to be fixed.

The rare brain disorder was known as a malformation of the vein of Galen. This happens when a blood vessel from the brain to the heart develops incorrectly.

Intrauterine surgery — operations performed on children before they are born — has been used for other conditions. The latest surgery was the first time for this particular condition.

After the surgery, Dr. Darren Orbach, a pediatric neuroradiologist, said: “The best thing was when she was born, just seeing her in the intensive care unit was normal and , you know, we all kind of looked at each other and pinched ourselves.

"We weren't sure when to celebrate. So that was really the moment when we knew everything was going to be okay."

The operation was part of a clinical trial approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The procedure was performed in March, and the details were published Thursday in the Stroke magazine.

Dr. Orbach said that if the operation had not been done, there could have been «serious brain injuries and immediate heart failure after birth» 34;.

He said: “50 to 60 percent of all children with this disease will immediately become ill. And they seem to have a mortality rate of about 40 percent.”

Parents Derek and Kenyatta Coleman of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said the problem was detected on an ultrasound at 30 weeks.

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Their baby Denver Coleman was born on March 17, weighing 4 pounds 1 ounce.

Ms Coleman told CNN: "I first heard her cry and it's just, I can't even describe words of what I felt at that moment. She showed us from the very beginning that she is a fighter."