Researchers are investigating whether a human umbilical cord patch placed on the spina bifida defect could improve healing after minimally invasive fetoscopic surgery in a clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Patients are being enrolled at The Fetal Center affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, and UT Physicians.
The study is for pregnant patients whose babies have a neural tube defect, myelomeningocele, in which a sac of fluid containing the spinal cord and nerves protrudes through an opening in the baby’s back. The condition can cause severe and lifelong disabilities, such as difficulty walking and going to the bathroom.
“We’ve used umbilical cord patches before to close the skin when the gap was too large, but now we’re assessing whether we can use this regenerative patch to promote healing and overcome the shortcomings of the minimally invasive approach, including scar formation at the repair site, which causes further complications,” said Ramesha Papanna, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at UT Physicians.
