ON 23 JANUARY 2002, SURGEONS CUT A 30-centimeter incision in Lorie Barber's abdomen, peeling away layers of tissue to reach her 23-week-old fetus. Delicately removing the uterus and slitting it open, the doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Centerin Nashville, Tennessee, stitched closed a gaping hole at the base of the fetus's spine. That opening was the signature left by spina bifida, which can cause paralysis, hydrocephalus, and other lifelong disabilities, Thirteen days after the surgery, Nicole Eva Barber was bom, more than 3 months early and weighing in at 1 pound and 10 ounces (740 grams). Nearly all fetal surgeries, the Barbers had been warned, carry a risk of premature birth. That hadn't deterred them.
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