British baby becomes first to have pioneering womb surgery for rare birth defect

Baby Theo is thriving after becoming the first British baby to undergo pioneering surgery before birth for a rare condition.

Maisie Savage

Published: August 6, 2026 at 12:48 PM

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Baby Theo was expected to face months of intensive hospital treatment after being diagnosed with a rare birth defect during pregnancy. Instead, he is now a thriving five-month-old after becoming the first British baby to undergo pioneering surgery before birth.

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Doctors in the US successfully repaired Theo's complex gastroschisis while he was still in the womb, in what is believed to be only the third procedure of its kind worldwide. Specialists hope the breakthrough could eventually become available to families in the UK.

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What is gastroschisis?

Gastroschisis is a rare birth defect that affects around one in every 3,000 babies born in the UK. It happens when the baby's abdominal wall does not develop properly during pregnancy, leaving the intestines growing outside the body through an opening near the belly button.

In many cases, babies need surgery shortly after birth, followed by weeks in neonatal intensive care and specialist feeding while their bowel recovers.

Theo was diagnosed with the more severe form, known as complex gastroschisis, which can require multiple operations, months in hospital and, in some cases, an intestinal transplant. Even with specialist treatment, around one in 10 babies with the condition do not survive.

A life-changing decision for Theo's family

Theo's parents, Maisie Savage, 29, and Josh French, 36, both teachers from London, said they were shocked when the condition was discovered during their 20-week pregnancy scan.

"We were purely just excited to have an image of our baby," Josh told the BBC. "We didn't know he was going to be a 'he' at the time."

After specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital identified Theo's condition as complex gastroschisis, the family was referred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where doctors were running the world's first clinical trial to repair the condition before birth.

Maisie had to travel to the US at 26 weeks pregnant and remain there until Theo was born.

Before the operation, she also travelled to Belgium, where specialists gave Theo a Botox injection into his abdominal wall to help relax the muscles and make the repair possible.

How doctors repaired Theo's intestines before he was born

The operation involved partially exposing Maisie's womb before using minimally invasive keyhole surgery to gently place Theo's intestines back inside his abdomen and close the opening.

Although the procedure left Maisie with a scar twice the size of a Caesarean section incision, the pregnancy continued for another 14 weeks.

"It was a hard recovery," Maisie said. "But, it was worth it."

Theo was later delivered vaginally in Texas in February and is now back home in London with his family.

Doctors hope the surgery could help more babies

Dr Michael Belfort, obstetrician and gynaecologist-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital, led the pioneering trial and said the results had exceeded expectations.

The mother, the baby, the surgery, the time of the surgery, the fact that we had zero complications during the foetal surgery and after the foetal surgery, just remarkable.

Dr Michael Belfort, Texas Children's Hospital

If the trial continues to prove successful, Professor Paolo De Coppi, paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital and head of stem cells and regenerative medicine at University College London, hopes the procedure could be introduced in the UK.

"We hope that we will be able to offer this to patients in a larger scale very soon," he said.

Dr Belfort also believes the breakthrough could pave the way for treating more conditions before birth.

"The inside of the uterus is now a new surgical space for innovation," he said. "And spina bifida and gastroschisis are just two, but I believe that we could actually do certain cardiac surgeries in utero, and I think we can also do some lung surgeries in utero."

"He's a completely normal baby"

Now five months old, Theo is developing well at home, something his parents once feared might not be possible.

Maisie said: "Everything they did just completely reversed what could have been a really horrible start to his life and he's just the best. He's a completely normal baby essentially."

Josh added: "We both feel incredibly fortunate. The impact that they've had on us as a family is incredible. They made us feel so welcome from the team at Great Ormond Street to Dr Belfort and the team.

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"Whilst we were over there, the level of care was amazing, and they made a very traumatic time of our lives so much easier, and we've got this little man, we couldn't be happier."

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