Newborn girl will fully recover following intrauterine heart surgery

A baby girl who underwent a successful heart surgery when she was still in her mother’s uterus has fully recovered after receiving another surgery following delivery, local medical experts announced on Wednesday.

The girl, who was born on August 20, received the cutting-edge surgery at 29 weeks of pregnancy as she suffered from a very serious congenital heart structure abnormality. The surgery was the first of its kind conducted entirely by domestic doctors.

Though the intrauterine heart surgery was successful, the fetus’ heart didn’t completely return to normal function. Follow-up treatment was necessary after delivery.

The girl received another surgery on the second day of delivery. Doctors from the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University carried out the delicate operation to fully repair the baby’s congenital heart disease.

The girl was removed from the respiratory machine the day following surgery and left the intensive care unit one week later.

Strict monitoring confirmed that the girl was in full recovery and will grow to be a healthy child. 

This is a "good example" of relay surgeries during and after pregnancy for serious heart diseases, doctors said.