Birth defect babies saved by womb op

SURGEONS have developed a pioneering operation performed in the womb that can save babies with a fatal birth defect, it was revealed yesterday.

Dozens of babies die each year after being born with a hole in the diaphragm that allows the liver, stomach and intestines to grow into the chest cavity.

Professor Kypros Nicolaides, from King’s College Hospital, London, co-led a trial of the technique in which a fine tube is placed into the windpipe of the foetus. The tube contains a balloon which is inflated, blocking the windpipe. Earlier research showed that this can aid early lung development despite pressure from the invading organs.