Some 150,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. Complex birth defects, which affect about 3 percent of newborns, are the leading cause of death and illness in babies’ first year of life. Preventing or lessening such incidents of birth defects is the goal of surgeons at the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery located within Texas Children’s and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospitals.

Working with the highly trained and experienced obstetric and pediatric fetal surgical team at Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery debuted in December 2001 with a successful ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedure to ensure an adequate airway in an unborn child who suffered from a giant cystic neck mass.

The Texas Center for Fetal Surgery is one of the few centers in the world that performs fetal surgery. These services include prenatal evaluation, diagnosis, invasive fetal therapy and open fetal surgery. Through the unique collaboration of Texas Children's Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery provides integrated, multidisciplinary care for mothers carrying babies with genetic or anatomic birth defects requiring therapy before or immediately after birth. This collaboration enables us to efficiently care for both the mother and child, providing the full spectrum of fetal surgical services.

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