PORTLAND, Ore. — OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital made history by performing the first in-utero repair for spina bifida in the Northwest and north of Los Angeles.
Vanessa Garcia-Pelayo and her husband Jonathan are the parents of baby Lorenzo, who surgeons performed the historic surgery on.
"So, we were going to our 5-month check-up,” said Garcia-Pelayo. “We went in thinking everything was good; we were going to check up on baby. We were really excited."
She recalls the ultrasound tech looking at a specific spot over and over during her appointment with her mom and husband in the room. Garcia-Pelayo said she had a feeling something was off but kept to herself as her thoughts raced through her head.
That's when the doctor came in and shared the news.
"She kind of just said, 'Your baby has spina bifida,'" said Garcia-Pelayo, "and obviously, when you hear that your baby isn't 100% healthy, it automatically tears you apart inside."
Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine doesn't close properly during the first month of pregnancy. Surgery often takes place days after the baby is born and can come with lifelong medical problems and mobility function issues.
But doctors in this case were able to offer an alternative: surgery inside the womb.
"I didn't think twice to make the decision to do the surgery," said Garcia-Pelayo. "It does come with risks, but I was just super confident that everything was going to be okay, and everything did turn out good."
At just 26 weeks, the couple took the leap of faith in April and said yes to surgery.
"We felt confident, actually, going into the day of surgery knowing all the steps that we had done in preparation were going to get executed," said Andrew Chon, M.D., a surgeon with the Fetal Care Program at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Chon said he and his team prepared for this exact moment for about 3 to 4 years.
"Studies have shown that if we repair them early while the mother is still pregnant, it decreases the rate of future procedures," said Dr. Raphael Sun, who is also a surgeon with the Fetal Care Program at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
The two, alongside 20 others, worked as a team inside the surgical room with one goal in mind: to safely complete the surgery.
Dr. Sun and Dr. Chon got to see the family of three after the surgery.
"I just congratulated her on the pregnancy and having come this far. I know it was a unique and long journey for her,” said Dr. Chon. “And to have entrusted us with the care of her pregnancy, just a sense of gratitude towards her."
"They were happy, we were happy, and my hope is that we can extend this to other families in the future," shared Dr. Sun.
Baby Lorenzo will continue getting care from doctors at Doernbecher. You can read more on their story here on the OHSU website.