Baby Santiago helps Midwest Fetal Care Center highlight its 100th in utero fetoscopic spina bifida surgery

[KSTP TV, September 18, 2024]

Three-month-old Santiago Portillo had his first surgery while he was still in his mother’s womb. It was the 100^th surgery of its kind for the doctors at Midwest Fetal Care Center, a collaboration between Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota.

An ultrasound at 18 weeks gestation showed Santiago had spina bifida, a condition affecting the spine. Santiago had no skin covering his lower back, which would have left his spine, nerves, muscles and bones exposed. Doctors told Santiago’s family the skin would likely never grow to cover that area, and they needed to operate on him while he was still in his mother’s uterus to close that area of his back and give him the best chance for success after birth. Seven weeks later, doctors prepared to perform the operation.

Watch KSTP-TV’s story to follow the journey.

Posted on September 18, 2024 in The Mother Baby Center, Mother & Child