Fetal surgery

Updated: 2024-11-20

Overview

Fetal surgery is a procedure done on an unborn baby, also known as a fetus, to save the life or improve the outcome of a baby who is not developing as expected during the mother's pregnancy. This type of surgery requires a team of experts at a healthcare center that has the skills and experience to do fetal surgery.

Why it's done

Before a baby is born, early fetal surgery treatment for life-altering health problems can make outcomes better in some cases. For example, if a baby has been diagnosed before birth with spina bifida, surgeons might do fetal surgery or a less-invasive procedure using a fetoscope.

Risks

Your healthcare professional should explain the potential risks of the procedure. This includes the risks to you and those to the unborn baby. These risks include rupture of the uterus after surgery, other surgery complications, early labor, failure to treat the health problem and sometimes death of the fetus.

Results

When done by fetal surgery experts in select babies, surgery before birth can have better results than surgery after delivery. This means that children with spina bifida, for example, may have fewer major disabilities and decreased risk of an impact on the brain as they go through life than they would have if they had surgery after birth.