Meet the child who underwent surgery in the womb

At 25 weeks from PregnancyAnd Michelle Johnson, the mother, underwent fetal surgery and a stem cell procedure to allow surgeons to treat a rare condition in her baby: spina bifida. This was the second time in the world that this operation had been performed on a person.

Spina bifida, which affects at least 1,500 infants annually in the United States, was diagnosed in a fetus 20 weeks after Johnson’s pregnancy. When the couple found out For the first time ever The baby will be born together with such a difficult disorder, they are destroyed. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, excited to meet their baby soon and have a future with him, begin to prepare themselves for wheelchairs and crutches among other things to make life better for their lives.

“We had no idea what the fate of this diagnosis would mean for our child. But we knew that no matter what happened, we loved this child and would do whatever it took to give our child the best outcome,” Johnson said.

However, Johnson came across the option of surgery – a historic, life-altering procedure that could alter the entire scenario. However, this type of surgery had only been performed once before.

When Johnson learned about the world’s first FDA-approved human clinical trial, called the “CuRe trial: uterine repair cell therapy for myelomeningocele,” she decided to sign up. Fetal surgery will fix the neural tube defect in her baby.

Johnson discovered that experiment using prenatal stem cells as a means of treating spina bifida. Funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The concerned mother applied for it, even though she knew she would have to move to Sacramento over the next few months in order to give birth to the baby.

Her application was accepted after several checks and interviews. Overjoyed, she prepared herself for the upcoming operation, which was conducted by a team of 40 people. Doctors placed the stem cells directly onto the fetus’s spinal cord using a patch to repair the defect. Fortunately, the fetus responded well and the operation was a success.

“The fetal patch was applied without a hitch and both mom and baby did great!” said Diana Farmer, the world’s first fetal surgeon, professor and chair of the department of surgery at UC Davis Health and the principal investigator behind the procedure.

Through a caesarean section, Johnson gave birth to a healthy, now three-month-old Toby. Toby Maginnis was born at a healthy weight of seven pounds, 13 ounces, without any medical complications that required immediate intervention. However, the medical team will follow Toby for 30 months for a long-term safety check.

“He’s eating well and smiling a lot. He’s doing really well. He’s just a rock star,” Johnson said, a week after he was born.