National Right to Life
Denise Grady is a first-rate Health and medicine reporter at The New York Times. I love reading her stories for her ability to break incredibly complicated medical stories down into layman’s language and to inject a dose of her own humanity.
Which brings us to a pair of terrific complementary stories written by Grady that recently ran in the Times. Both were about still experimental surgery performed on Lexi Royer and her unborn son who’d been prenatally diagnosed with a severe form of spina bifida. As Grady explained
Spina bifida occurs early, at three to four weeks of pregnancy, when the tissue forming the spinal column should fold into a tube but does not close properly. There are 1,500 to 2,000 cases a year in the United States.
But it wasn’t until a famous study was published in 2011 that those who wondered if the risk/benefits of prenatal surgery outweighed the risks/benefits of operating after birth learned that prenatal surgery was significantly better.
During the standard prenatal surgery for spina bifida, surgeons cut open the woman’s abdomen and uterus to reach the fetus. But the newer, experimental approach is different.
Dr. Belfort opened Mrs. Royer’s lower abdomen, but not her uterus. Instead, he eased the uterus out of her body and inserted the fetoscope, and then, through another slit, surgical tools. The doctors drained out the amniotic fluid and pumped in carbon dioxide to keep the uterus expanded, giving them room to work and allowing them to see better and cauterize when needed.
I encourage you to read both stories, but especially the second– “Lights, Camera and, Yes, Music: Reporting From the Operating Room as Doctors Perform Fetal Surgery.”
Which brings us to a pair of terrific complementary stories written by Grady that recently ran in the Times. Both were about still experimental surgery performed on Lexi Royer and her unborn son who’d been prenatally diagnosed with a severe form of spina bifida. As Grady explained
Spina bifida occurs early, at three to four weeks of pregnancy, when the tissue forming the spinal column should fold into a tube but does not close properly. There are 1,500 to 2,000 cases a year in the United States.
In the case of Mrs. Royer’s 24-week unborn baby, “The defect was big and severe, and the brain stem was being pulled down into the spinal column.” We’re told that “termination” was offered. Lexi and her husband Joshuwa said no.The surgery took place in September at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Prenatal surgery for spina bifida, as readers of NRL News Today know, is nothing new.
But it wasn’t until a famous study was published in 2011 that those who wondered if the risk/benefits of prenatal surgery outweighed the risks/benefits of operating after birth learned that prenatal surgery was significantly better.
“The percentage of children who could walk independently rose to 40 percent from 20 percent,” Grady explained, “and the need for a shunt was cut in half, to 40 percent from 82 percent.”In Grady’s first, more technical story, “To Mend a Birth Defect, Surgeons Operate on the Patient Within the Patient,” she explains how the new prenatal surgery differs from the old.
During the standard prenatal surgery for spina bifida, surgeons cut open the woman’s abdomen and uterus to reach the fetus. But the newer, experimental approach is different.
Dr. Belfort opened Mrs. Royer’s lower abdomen, but not her uterus. Instead, he eased the uterus out of her body and inserted the fetoscope, and then, through another slit, surgical tools. The doctors drained out the amniotic fluid and pumped in carbon dioxide to keep the uterus expanded, giving them room to work and allowing them to see better and cauterize when needed.
I encourage you to read both stories, but especially the second– “Lights, Camera and, Yes, Music: Reporting From the Operating Room as Doctors Perform Fetal Surgery.”
National Right to Life article continues
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Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?
National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna: Call 215-826-8090
If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available. Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.
Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link. Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest. Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.
Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?
National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna: Call 215-826-8090
If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available. Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.
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