‘Miracle’ boy expected to be paralysed due to spina bifida able to walk after ground-breaking surgery in the womb | Science, Climate & Tech News
A three-year-old boy who would almost certainly have been born paralysed because of a severe spinal abnormality is able to walk after having ground-breaking stem cell surgery while still in the womb. An ultrasound scan 20 weeks into pregnancy showed Tobi Maginnis had spina bifida, a disabling condition in which the spinal cord fails to develop properly during pregnancy, leaving part of it growing outside the body. But he became just the second baby to have the abnormality repaired before he was born using rejuvenating stem cells taken from the placenta. Image: Tobi with parents Jeff Maginnis and Michelle Johnson His mum, Michelle Johnson, told Sky News that he was full of energy. “He runs, he walks, he jumps, he is all over the place,” she said. “We expected Tobi to be wheelchair-bound. So to see where he is now, it’s nothing short of a miracle.” ‘Blessed every day’ Tobi was one of six babies in a world-first clinical trial led by the University of California Davis Children’s Hospital. Around 25 weeks into pregnancy surgeons …
