Unborn children with spina bifida will be able to have surgery in the womb under NHS plans to give more patients innovative treatments.
Evidence from abroad has found that the procedure can improve the lives of sufferers, even allowing some infants to walk who might not otherwise have been able to do so.
Only a handful of babies in Britain have so far had the operation, in which surgeons repair the spine in order to prevent the loss of spinal fluid that can cause severe physical and cognitive developmental problems.
From April patients from all over England will be able to have the procedure, which surgeons from University College hospital and Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London jointly performed for the first time on two babies this summer.
Until now, mothers known to be carrying a baby with spina bifida have had to go to the US, Belgium or Switzerland to have the surgery. More than 200 babies a year are born with the condition, which is caused when a baby’s spine and spinal cord don’t develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine.
Frankie Lavis from Plymouth became the first British child to have the procedure in 2013. It was carried out in Belgium, where teams from the two London hospitals trained before doing the first two in the UK this summer. The treatment will become routinely available on the NHS as part of a series of cutting-edge surgeries and innovative drugs that NHS England will start funding for the first time.
In a statement, NHS England said: “The cutting-edge procedure for unborn children with spina bifida allows pregnant women to be treated closer to home and their families. The surgery involves repairing the spinal tissue while the baby is still in the womb, which can reduce illnesses including bladder, bowel and kidney conditions later in life, and improve walking ability.”
The treatment is not suitable for every pregnancy but about 10 babies with spina bifida a year are likely to benefit. Which hospitals perform those surgeries will be finalised at a later date.
Kate Steele, the chief executive of the charity Shine – which supports those affected by the condition – said: “Although open prenatal surgery is not a cure for spina bifida, and is not suitable for every pregnancy, any medical advances which will potentially improve the health and social outcomes for a baby born with spina bifida is very good news.
“That the surgery is set to be procured in the UK will mean that far fewer parents-to-be will have to travel abroad and stay far from home for the surgery,” she added.
NHS England has decided to start providing a number of new treatments after being persuaded over their cost and effectiveness by an independent team of experts. Between 1,000 and 2,000 patients a year will benefit from the expansion. The treatments NHS England will start funding from April include:
Everolimus, a new drug that treats epileptic seizures caused by a genetic condition that leads to benign tumours forming in the body and the brain. About 300 people, most of them children, will start to get it.
Selexipag, a new tablet that treats pulmonary arterial hypertension, a life-threateningly dangerous form of high blood pressure. It works by relaxing and widening the blood vessels connected to the heart and lungs to stop them getting damaged, ultimately reducing the risk of heart failure.
Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England’s medical director, said: “The NHS leads the world on innovation and the [NHS] long-term plan will channel investment into some of the most advanced care and treatments anywhere in the world.”
The long term plan, which will set out how the NHS will use the £20.5bn a year budget increases that Theresa May has pledged to give it by 2023, is expected to be published in early January.
