In an unprecedented medical step in the world, a medical team in a French hospital succeeded in treating a fetus inside its mother’s womb that was suffering from a rare, life-threatening hemangioma.
Medical precedent
At the end of the seventh month of pregnancy, the fetus was diagnosed with Kasbach-Meret syndrome, a serious condition that may lead to death, in a hospital in the city of Mulhouse in eastern France.
Doctor Chris Minella explained during a press conference held at the Mother and Child Hospital in Mulhouse that the fetus was suffering from a mass in the neck area that was impeding the breathing process, and that the tumor was growing very quickly and extended to the fetus’ face.
A center specializing in the treatment of rare diseases in the city of Lyon proposed a prenatal treatment aimed at reducing the formation of new blood vessels using the drug “sirolimus,” under the supervision of Professor Laurent Guibault.
The drug was given to the mother orally, and the drug was able to cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus, which contributed to stopping the growth of the tumor.
Baby Issa was born on November 14, 2025 by caesarean section, and is now healthy and three months old. Despite the presence of the tumor, it is nourishing and growing normally, according to what his mother, Vivian (34 years old), said.
Issa undergoes regular medical follow-up in the hospital, and is still receiving treatment with sirolimus.
