Kansas City,
13
November
2018
|
11:22 AM
America/Chicago

KMBC 9: Kansas City baby thriving after surgery in the womb

By Donna Pitman

A Kansas City baby is thriving despite a life-threatening condition, thanks to a surgery done while she was still inside her mother's womb.

Brendan and Jean McPherson are picture-perfect now, despite the first picture of their little one showing something very concerning.

"The sonogram tech said, 'There's something we need the doctor to check,'" Jean McPherson remembered. "He came back in and said she had spina bifida."

As 25-and-a-half weeks pregnant, Jean, and the baby they named Mary Kate, were in the hands of surgeons at Children's Mercy.

Surgeons were asked to repair what they could of Mary Kate's spinal column, and lessen any long-term damage from her exposed spinal cord.

Dr. Mike Vlastos has several of these surgeries under his belt, but said these instances never become routine.

"This is ultimate team play in medicine in that all of these individuals come together to focus on a mom and a baby during this surgery," Vlastos said.

 

See the full story via KMBC 9

Learn more about the Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy