Experimental foetal microsurgery as related to myelomeningocele

To study this capacity of embryono-foetal tissue to regenerate without scar formation, experimental intrauterine surgery has been carried out in rabbits. This study has been performed with regard to the possibility of using intrauterine microsurgery to correct myelomeningocele in humans to avoid scar adhesion between the medulla and the growing vertebral bones and subsequent hydrocephalus. Lesions were produced in the spinal cord of rabbit foetuses, and observation after birth showed repair without scar formation. Further research is in progress to confirm these findings and to adapt this procedure to the clinical situation.