14/02/2023
For the first time in Costa Rica, Hospital San Juan de Dios and the National Children's hospital performed open prenatal surgery to repair a lumbosacral myelomeningocele.
After a timely diagnosis and careful planning, specialists from both hospitals operated on the mother and the 27-week gestational baby with the aim of addressing the congenital malformation of the latter without stopping its development in the womb. Surgery consists of operating on the baby by opening the mother's abdomen and uterus. Subsequently, the congenital malformation is repaired by the team of neurosurgeons and the closure of the mother's uterus and abdomen is concluded so that the pregnancy can continue.
The preparation of surgeons to perform this type of surgery required more than 5 years of training both nationally and internationally, in health establishments in Barcelona, London, Chicago and Houston. Additionally, this surgery had the support of a center specialized in this type of surgery in Mexico, directed by the neurosurgeon Felipe Chavelas Ochoa.
The team of surgeons was led by Dr. Joaquín Bustillos Villavicencio, head of the San Juan de Dios Obstetrics service, and Dr. Yai Linn Chang Castro, a specialist in fetal medicine, Dr. Leonardo Jiménez Fernández, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine, both from the HSJD, Dr. Adrián Cáceres Chacón, a specialist in pediatric neurosurgery and Dr. Juan Luis Segura Valverde, a specialist in pediatric neurosurgery.
This surgical procedure lasted approximately three hours, with more than 50 collaborators in the different stages of the process, distributed among the areas of: Gynecology, Perinatology, Neonatology, Intensive Care, Blood Bank, Anesthesiology, Nursing and Operating Room, the San Juan de Dios and Nacional de Niños hospitals and the National Center for Magnetic Resonance.
The procedure was performed on January 12. Ten days later the mother began labor. A caesarean section was performed without major complications and the baby was admitted to the Neonatology service of the San Juan de Dios Hospital for its clinical evolution. To date the recovery has been very satisfactory.
Source: Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social
