Wahiawa family one of first to receive fetoscopic surgery
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A severe spinal defect threatened the life of a Wahiawa woman's unborn child. Now more than a year later, her baby is thriving thanks to a successful surgery before birth.
In 2023, Joy Wright was a busy wife and mom of three about welcome her fourth baby. Everything was fine until it wasn't.
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'My husband and I were just kind of floored with the news kind of grieving. Our vision for the future, it was just going to be forever changed,' stated Wright.
Wright was 23 weeks pregnant with Isla when her baby was diagnosed with a severe form of Spina Bifida, a condition that occurs when the spine doesn't completely wrap around the spinal cord and leaves an opening in the spine that can lead to serious complications. Baby Isla had a hole in her spine, which caused spinal fluid to leak, according to Wright.'It happens on average about one in five to 6,000 live births,' said Dr. Christopher Derderian, pediatric and fetal surgeon.
Despite the risks, Wright traveled to Colroado while 26 weeks pregnant to undergo fetoscopic surgery and save her baby.
'There's so many unknowns, it was hard to see that there's a moment where I knew she was going to be all right. Even if no one else is giving you that hope, you got to hold on to it because that will keep you floating through some really dark times,' Wright said.
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According to Children's Hospital Colorado, research has shown that when compared to surgery after birth, prenatal MMC repair results in better motor function and a 50% decreased need for a shunt to divert cerebral spinal fluid. Surgery before birth decreased exposure of nerves to amniotic fluid and allows the baby's skin to grow around the repair as they continue to develop in the womb.
'There are very few centers in the country that offer prenatal surgery for spinal bifida,' Derderian said. 'We're putting small cameras into the baby's womb repairing the abnormality at that time, before the baby is born, with the hopes that these babies will not will be born without these abnormalities.'
Now at more than a year old, Baby Isla is meeting all her milestones.
'I was told that she may never walk or talk. She's so expressive and learning how to be mobile in her own way. She's crawling, she's using her legs a lot more than we ever anticipated,' Wright said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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