Charlie Royer was born in January 2018 and is now 1 year old. But before being born, the child was operated on right in the uterus and had a cleft in the spine removed.
If a boy were born with such a defect, he would be paralyzed and in the future he would face a very difficult life with urinary incontinence, dropsy and other problems. He could only be helped by an innovative operation right in the womb, which was also associated with great risks. The slightest complication could cause premature birth and give the boy even more health problems.
However, his parents Lexi and Joshua Royer agreed to the risk. Surgery Charlie was developed by doctors in Barcelona and performed at Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Charlie was then 24 weeks old, he was considered only a fetus and weighed about 800 grams. He had a very severe form of spina bifida, due to which both the spine and the spinal cord did not develop well. The cleft was in the lower back.
Similar fetal operations (operations on the fetus in the uterus) on the spine have been performed since the 1990s. However, they are not a panacea and often cannot save a child from disability, but only reduce its severity.
However, in Charlie's case, an innovative method was tested and this gave hope. Usually, the operation was performed by cutting the uterus, but the new method only allowed the operation to be performed through tiny holes in the uterus.
The surgeons removed the uterus with the fetus out through a wide incision in the mother's lower abdomen, and then made tiny 4mm incisions in the uterus. A fibrofetoscope with a camera and a set of instruments was inserted through the first slit, and another set of miniature instruments through the second. The uterus was illuminated from the inside and it became like a magic stone in a darkened operating room.
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Lexie and Joshua always wanted children, but they just couldn't. At first Lexi had a miscarriage, and then she could not conceive a child for a long time. When she became pregnant with Charlie, it was for them a light at the end of the tunnel, however, during subsequent ultrasounds, the doctor saw an abnormality in the back of the fetus, and with each new examination it became clear that this was a very serious defect.
The operation took 3 hours. Conventional surgery with large incisions in the uterus would be easier and faster, but this innovative technique was safer for both mother and baby.
And now, a year later, it becomes clear that little Charlie, thanks to this operation, will not only be able to walk, but also normally controls his bladder.
Now Charlie is learning to walk and is already making progress, he even tries to dance. In the future, he may need a couple more surgeries, as he may have problems with how his body and nerves develop near the scar tissue in his back as he gets older.
Joshua Royer is confident that when Charlie grows up, he will be active and independent and will be able to do everything that ordinary children do.