KUCHING: A baby who underwent in-utero fetal surgery for spina bifida at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here last September is doing well, says the Health Minister.
Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said clinical assessment showed that the four-month-old is able to breathe, swallow and pass urine and stool normally.
“More remarkably, the baby’s legs are moving strongly, and the infant did not require a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt after birth,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday, Bernama reported.
A VP shunt is a procedure to drain excess fluid from the brain to the abdomen, helping to relieve pressure and prevent damage caused by fluid build-up.
Dzulkefly said that during his visit to SGH, he met the team of specialists who had made national history by performing the surgery, the first of its kind in Malaysia.
Dzulkefly said that through expert intervention while the mother is still pregnant, the baby’s spinal cord can be protected from damage, while life-threatening respiratory complications can be prevented.
