Doctors and others conduct surgery while examining the condition of a fetus using ultrasound in this photo provided by the National Center for Child Health and Development.

       TOKYO -- An operation inside a mother's womb to treat an unborn baby diagnosed with a severe congenital heart disease was successful for the first time in Japan, the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD) announced.

       Aortic valve stenosis is a disease present at birth, in which extreme narrowness of the aortic valve opening located between the aorta and the left ventricle, which pumps blood out to the entire body, blocks circulation. It reportedly occurs in about three or four in 10,000 newborn babies.

       In serious cases, the left ventricle does not develop normally, and the child risks dying from heart failure shortly after birth. In some instances, the baby's left ventricle becomes small and unusable. It is hoped that treatment at the fetal stage would stimulate proper heart growth, and make it possible for the baby's heart to circulate blood through it using the left and right ventricles following birth.

       The NCCHD planned the surgery as part of clinical research. In July, the center conducted a surgical procedure called aortic valvuloplasty on a fetus in the womb of a mother who was 25 weeks pregnant. The baby's condition was examined with ultrasound, and a balloon catheter inserted in their heart to widen the valve opening. Left ventricle growth was stimulated, and the baby was reportedly born safely via cesarean section. Mother and child are in good health, and the center will continue to observe whether the child's blood will circulate normally.

       According to the NCCHD, in the United States and Europe, which are ahead in surgical operations for the condition, surgery success rates are between around 70 and 90%. Of them, about 30 to 50% achieve left ventricle function recovery and enable blood to be circulated across the entire body.

       The NCCHD aims to carry out five clinical studies in total by 2025. Haruhiko Sago, deputy director of the center, said, "That we were able to indicate the possibility of treating critical congenital heart disease cases inside the womb is of great significance. We'd like to assess the operation's safety and effectiveness moving forward, and establish a treatment that will offer hope for people distressed by their fetus's condition."

       (Japanese original by Ayumu Iwasaki, Science & Environment News Department)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0