PCMC performs PH’s first open fetal surgery

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) has successfully performed its first open fetal surgery for Myelomeningocele.

According to Mayo Clinic website, myelomeningocele is a serious type of defect wherein a fetus’ spinal canal is open along several vertebrae in the lower or middle back area. This makes the fetus prone to dangerous infections and may lead to loss of movement in the legs, and bladder as well as bowel dysfunction.

According to John Hopkins University, the procedure, also known as “fetal spina bifida repair” is done to close the spinal defect during pregnancy.

It is usually done between 19 to 26 weeks of gestation, or a time where an embryo or fetus develops inside a womb.

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Considered by the PCMC as a “major milestone,” the hospital said in a statement that the surgery “was conducted on March 26, 2025, at the PCMC Perinatal Center, on a 30-year-old pregnant mother, who was 25 weeks pregnant.”

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The PCMC added that the operation was led by Dr. Maria Estrella Flores, Dr. Jose Francisco Aguilar, and Dr. Joy Ann Lim, with assistance of the Fetal Surgery Team from Colombia.

The PCMC is one of the Nationalized Centers for Specialized Health Care under the Department of Health.