On Sept. 27, as a six-month-old fetus, [Baby Royer] underwent experimental surgery while still in his mother’s womb to treat a severe form of spina bifida, in which the tissue that should enclose and protect the spinal column does not form properly.
The condition leaves the spine open with nerves exposed, and they sustain damage that can leave a child incontinent and unable to walk. The opening leaks spinal fluid, and the base of the brain can sink into the spinal column and be harmed by pressure.
Research has shown that for carefully selected fetuses, surgery before birth rather than after gives the child better odds of being able to walk independently and of avoiding the need for an implanted shunt to prevent fluid buildup in the brain.
Usually, the prenatal surgery requires cutting open the uterus. But after carefully studying the options and consulting various specialists, Lexi and Joshuwa Royer chose an experimental approach. In that procedure, developed at Texas Children’s Hospital by Dr. Michael Belfort, the obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief, and Dr. William Whitehead, a pediatric neurosurgeon, doctors make just tiny slits in the uterus to insert a camera and miniature instruments. The camera sends images to a monitor that the surgeons watch so they can see what they are doing. This has nothing to do with declaring a fetus a baby. All you ever do is lie.
