Orlando Health Reunites Patients to Celebrate 5 Years of Performing Life-Changing In-Utero Surgery

Orlando Health Open Fetal Surgery 5 year Anniversary Video For Download

Orlando, FL (May 13, 2023) – Orlando Health is celebrating its 5-year milestone of successful in-utero surgery to repair Spina bifida, a spinal defect developed by the fetus during the early stages of pregnancy. To date, the hospital system has performed 36 cases on mothers and their unborn babies from across the state of Florida, as well as some from Puerto Rico, Alabama and Hawaii.

This week, more than 80 people joined together to commemorate the program, including 21 fetal surgery families. The fetal surgery program at Orlando Health began with the recruitment of Samer Elbabaa, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon who has performed more than 100 of these procedures in his career.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate five incredible years of our fetal surgery program and reunite with many of the mothers and babies we’ve had the privilege to care for,” said Samer Elbabaa, MD, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. “We see an average of 13,000 births a year and this program is truly meeting an important need here in Central Florida and across the country.”

Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies was the first and remains the only hospital in the state of Florida to offer this unique and life-changing procedure. While fetal surgery is not a cure for Spina bifida, studies show that it can significantly reduce the need for a spinal shunt at birth and can improve the child’s mobility and leg function.

Emily and Erich Ziegler of Lakeland, Florida are one of the more recent families to undergo the complex procedure at Orlando Health. Their son Chance was “twice born” in 2021 and is now walking unassisted. “The doctors all said that walking might not be a possibility with Spina bifida and every case is different,” Emily recalled. “The fact that he can walk just made me sure that doing fetal surgery was the right choice.”

Pregnant mothers must go through a robust screening process to determine if this surgery is the best option for them. Once the screening is completed, the surgery must be done within a tight window between 19 to 26 weeks of pregnancy to offer the best outcomes for both the mother and her baby. During the procedure, a maternal fetal medicine physician opens the mother’s uterus to expose the baby’s spine so the fetal surgeon can perform the repair.

“It’s fitting that we are recognizing this milestone so close to Mother’s Day,” said Cole Greves, MD, director of complex fetal care and co-director of the Fetal Care Center at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer. “Our fetal surgery mothers are truly the heroes of this story. They are putting their bodies though two major surgeries, with an intense recovery, just so they can give their babies a better quality of life.”

Following their birth, children who had fetal surgery for Spina bifida can continue to receive multidisciplinary care through the Leon Pediatric Neuroscience Center of Excellence at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer. For more information about fetal surgery and the Fetal Care Center, click here.

About Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies

Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies is a 350-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of women and babies. The hospital includes comprehensive fetal diagnostics and labor and delivery services, a regional center for neonatal intensive care, maternal intensive care and women’s services. Annually, more than 13,000 babies are expected to be born at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer, making it the busiest labor and delivery unit in the state of Florida. The hospital is also home to the state’s only in-utero surgery program to repair Spina bifida defects. To learn more, visit www.winniepalmerhospital.com.

About Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children

Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is a 156-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of children. Orlando Health Arnold Palmer provides expertise in pediatric specialties such as cardiac care, craniomaxillofacial surgery, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, pulmonology and sports medicine. The Bert Martin’s Champions for Children Emergency Department & Trauma Center at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer is part of the only Level One Trauma Center in the area, and is the first facility in Central Florida to provide emergency care exclusively for pediatric patients. Visit www.arnoldpalmerhospital.com to learn more about all of our specialties.