Tommy with his mom Serena Bown – SWNSA baby survived an incredible operation when doctors performed spinal surgery inside the womb after it was temporarily removed from his mom’s body at 26 weeks—and now both are thriving.
Englishwoman Serena Nye was relieved to see her newborn son kick his legs after the complex keyhole surgery was completed inside her womb.
The 24-year-old was told during her 20-week pregnancy check-up last year that her unborn son had spina bifida. Because of the way his spine was growing, and a cyst that was developing at the base of his spine, they were warned that it would likely cause him to be severely disabled, with a high risk of paralysis.
Serena and her partner were given the choice to continue or terminate the pregnancy or have fetoscopic surgery. So six weeks later doctors took Serena’s womb out of her body to operate on her unborn son’s spine—and three hours later her womb and baby were stitched up back inside her body until it was time to give birth.
At the 31 week mark, Tommy Bown was born—and was able to feed normally and kick his legs, thanks to the surgery.
He spent four weeks in the hospital before doting parents Serena and Chris Bown brought him home to East Sussex.
The tot, now three months old, is hitting all his milestones, and a scar on his back from the surgery is the only evidence of his operation.
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“When we found out he had spina bifida, we were in shock. We heard all these stories. We thought he would never walk, or eat on his own.
“A few weeks later Tommy was born. I saw him in the incubator, and he was so tiny—but his legs were moving!
“After weeks in the NICU, it was a massive relief to bring him home,” Serena told news agency SWNS.com, “with his scar on his back as a crazy reminder of what happened.”
“Now, I look down at my baby and I think, ‘you have no idea what you’ve been through already’.”
“Leading up to the surgery, I was so nervous. We knew there were risks, but the positives were still higher.
The surgery took place at King’s College Hospital, and everything went smoothly.
“We had no idea what he would be capable of when he was born, even though he showed good signs during pregnancy.
Serena and Tommy – SWNSTommy was finally taken home on October 19, and has been growing stronger and hitting milestones ever since.
“I can’t wait to sit him down and tell him what he went through when he’s older.
“The next steps are waiting for him to crawl (but) for now, nobody can believe how well he is doing.”
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