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St. Louis fetal care center is one of few in the region to offer surgery for some patients with Spina Bifida

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Babies diagnosed with Spina Bifida are being offered an innovative and less invasive way to be treated.

Many patients choose to travel to St. Louis to have this surgery with some coming from quite a distance away.

The team performs fetal surgery for spina bifida, or myelomeningocele (MMC).
The team performs fetal surgery for spina bifida, or myelomeningocele (MMC). Photo credit: Marcy Livingston

The surgery is performed in our Fetal Care Center, the only one in the area, and one of the only ones in the Midwest that perform the surgery on infants with a specific form of Spina Bifida, called Myelomeningocele, in the womb.

The partnership between Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Washington University makes this possible. In previous years, this surgery could only be done after a baby was born.