“You're basically left saying your baby is doing to die in utero ... At the same time, performing the surgery without opening the mother's womb decreases the risk of premature delivery.

"Previously the baby would have the repair to the defect after birth - but now that we can do the surgery in the womb, the defect is closed a lot earlier so it means there's less damage to the spine.

They have tried it in baby sheep and a pair of English ... He has been doing surgery on babies in the womb for spina bifida and says using stem cell patches might improve outcomes even further.

But then their local cardiologist sent the case to doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the hopes that they could perform fetal heart surgery to save the baby’s life.

At 24 weeks, her organs were still developing, and her odds of surviving outside the womb were low, so the Tennessee mother was referred to a team of specialists in Pennsylvania who have pioneered a ...

Arley is only the 4th child to undergo fetal heart surgery for a pericardial teratoma at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

But then their local cardiologist sent the case to doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the hopes that they could perform fetal heart surgery to save the baby’s life.