@sciencefunn: Dr. Oluyinka O. Olutoye (originally from Nigeria) and Dr. Darrell Cass of Texas Children’s Hospital led a team that performed fetal surgery on a 23-week-old fetus. The fetus, named Lynlee Hope, had a sacrococcygeal teratoma (a type of tumor that arises where the tailbone is) which was threatening her health — it was diverting blood flow and causing risk of heart failure. During the surgery, portions of the fetus were removed from the womb, the tumor was excised, and the fetus was returned to the mother’s uterus. The uterus was then closed. After that, the fetus continued to develop in utero until about 36 weeks, and was delivered by caesarean section. After birth, further surgery was needed to remove residual parts of the tumor. The child has since been reported to be doing well. Caveats / Clarifications It wasn’t a case of literally “taking the baby fully out, doing all the surgery outside the womb then reimplanting” in every detail. Rather, parts of the fetus (the section where the tumor was) were exposed, removed, and then placed back. These procedures are incredibly complex and risky. The fetus’s heart slowed severely during the operation; there was an emergency resuscitation. This kind of procedure (open fetal surgery) is very rare and involves a major team (maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric surgery, anesthesiology, etc.). Song by @russelldickersonofficial

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Sunday 01 February 2026 10:48:04 GMT