Baby’s life saved at St George's hospital Tooting after doctors carry out rare surgery

A team of 50 doctors crammed into an operation theatre at a south London hospital to carry out a rare procedure on a newborn baby to save his life.

Freddie Verschueren was delivered at St George’s hospital in Tooting using the Ex-utero Intrapartum Treatment (EXIT) procedure, which delivers babies who could potentially have serious challenges at birth.

This procedure is used when an unborn child has an obstruction in their airway which means they would be unable to breathe independently once they are removed from the placenta.

In Freddie’s case there was a cyst on his tongue that could potentially block his airways. It was detected in a scan during his mum’s second trimester.

During the operation the team made an incision in his mother Anna’s tummy and delivered Freddie’s head and shoulders first, leaving him attached to the placenta and able to breathe. They established an airway so he could breathe independently before delivering the rest of him.

Freddie was born weighing 6lb 8oz at birth and was able to go home a healthy baby with his parents Anna and Peter, from Horsham.

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Mrs Verschueren said:“We’ve been incredibly impressed with the service we have had at St George’s, at every step it has been outstanding care.

 “When we found out we needed to have the procedure we felt in such safe hands with the experts at St George’s. We never doubted their skill and advice.”

Professor Asma Khalil, a consultant obstetrician at St George’s, led the operation, which involved about 50 medics and other staff.

Professor Khalil said: “An exit procedure involves a large number of healthcare professionals from various backgrounds including an obstetrician, foetal medicine specialist, an anaesthetist, a paediatric anaesthetist, a paediatric ENT surgeon, midwives and the neonatal team, as well as other theatre staff.

“I am very grateful to the efforts by every member of our large team who ensured that we delivered the best care to Anna and Freddie. Saving babies’ lives and caring for the parents during challenging times is the most rewarding aspect of my job.”

Dr Richard Jennings, group chief medical officer for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, said: “St George’s is one of the few hospitals in the country that carries out this rare procedure and saves the lives of many babies.

 “I am pleased to hear that Freddie is doing well thanks to our dedicated and skilled teams and everyone at St George’s wishes him and his family all the best for the future.”

The Exit procedure is extremely rare across the world but has been performed twice by doctors at St George’s in the past year.