Spina Bifida: Babies May Do Better With Corrective Surgery Before Birth

Feb. 9, 2011 — -- When Ryan Albertson was born with an exposed spinal cord, his doctors had devastating news for his parents.

"They didn't know if he was going to walk, ever," said Ryan's father, Kelly Albertson. "Most likely blind, brain damage, you name it. They gave me the worst the day he was born."

Baby Ryan was diagnosed with spina bifida, a sometimes-debilitating birth defect in which the spine fails to close around the spinal cord during the first months of pregnancy. Many babies born with spina bifida face lifelong paralysis and mental disabilities.

Twelve years and eight surgeries later, Ryan is now an active middle schooler who plays wheelchair basketball.

While the operations have made a big difference, a new study suggests children with spina bifida may do better, over time, if they have surgery before they are even born.

Researchers from nearly a dozen centers nationwide compared nearly 200 babies with spina bifida, half of whom underwent surgery in utero, while the other half underwent surgery after birth. They found that after one year, those who had surgery before birth were 30 percent less likely to need follow-up surgeries than infants who had surgery after birth.

Spina bifida is often detected 5 to 7 months after pregnancy begins. Surgeons can go inside a pregnant woman's uterus and gently stitch up the open spinal cord of the developing fetus. This stops the leaking of spinal fluid and spares a child brain and nerve damage.

"This is a big breakthrough. For the first time we can show a clear cut benefit, treating a non life threatening malformation by repairing it before birth," said Dr. Scott Adzick, chief of surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and first author of the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Seven out of 10,000 babies in the U.S. are born with spina bifida, and often require immediate surgery after birth to avoid complications, according to the Spina Bifida Association.