October 28, 2016.
It is an incredible operation that American surgeons have attempted, and it seems, successful, even if it leaves French obstetricians skeptical.
Operated at 16 weeks in her mother’s womb
In Texas, LunyLee, a little girl, was found to have a rare tumor when she was only 16 weeks old. She is still a fetus, in her mother’s womb, and weighs only 500 grams. However : the tumor can grow at full speed, and doom it, due to the accelerated cell multiplication peculiar to the first months of life in utero.
Doctors offered her parents a daring operation: removing the tumor during pregnancy, opening the uterus, operating it “in vivo”, then closing everything.
Soon in utero operations using robots
The operation took place at the beginning of 2016, but was only made public recently, at the four months of the little girl who is doing perfectly well, cleared of her tumor.
The French doctors who have spoken about this operation since it was publicized nevertheless remain wary.. For them, the risks of premature delivery, and the death of the baby, were too high. Nevertheless: the progress of medicine is such that it will very likely allow tomorrow to operate a fetus in utero, but this time, without opening, thanks to micro-robot surgeons. It’s for tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.
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