Note: This video contains some incredible yet graphic imagery of fetal surgery.
Steffanie and Jon Sawyer were thrilled to learn they were pregnant with a baby boy. It was a routine pregnancy until an ultrasound at 18 weeks revealed their baby had a spinal birth defect called spina bifida. His spinal cord nerves were exposed to Steffanie's amniotic fluid, which is toxic for the baby. Frightened yet determined to give their son the best possible start at life, the Sawyers decided to travel from their home in Chicago to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. There, Mom underwent life-changing fetal surgery to repair the unborn baby's spinal cord defect.
Incredibly, the medical team performed this delicate surgery on the unborn fetus. They literally pulled the basketball-sized uterus out of Steffanie's womb. Then, they opened the uterus just enough for doctors to see and repair the inch-long defect. The dangerous bit of exposed spinal cord was covered and closed. The surgery was a complete success.
Three months later, Steffanie gave birth to a happy and healthy baby William. Absolutely amazing.
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