The first-ever Israeli baby born to a woman who had undergone uterine transposition surgery was delivered at Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, the hospital announced on Wednesday.
The newborn is only the sixth baby in the world born to a woman who has undergone the groundbreaking transposition procedure, it noted.
Professor Ram Eitan, director of Beilinson’s Gynecologic Oncology Unit, who performed the uterine surgery in 2022, recently delivered the baby via Caesarean section in what the medical center described as “emotional closure.”
“When this technique was first introduced, it was incredibly innovative, and we didn’t know if the uterus could survive such a transposition and later sustain a pregnancy,” Eitan said in remarks shared by the hospital.
The new mother, identified only by the first letter of her first name, A., was diagnosed some years ago with colorectal cancer, which required radiation therapy. To preserve her ability to conceive, she underwent the novel surgery to reposition her uterus outside the radiation field.
Radiation irreversibly damages the uterine lining and muscle, and the only way to protect the organ is to surgically detach it—along with the ovaries—and suture them into the upper abdomen above the navel.
Following the completion of the cancer treatments, A.'s uterus was returned to its natural position in a second surgery, the hospital said.
Eitan noted that it is “rare and deeply inspiring to see a woman who has faced cancer, radiation and uterine transposition—and still manages to conceive and bring life into the world.
“So, when A. called to share this great news, it was an incredibly emotional moment. We realized we had pushed the boundaries of medicine to the maximum,” he said.
The uterine transposition technique was first developed in Brazil, and only about 18 women worldwide have undergone the surgery, two of them in Israel.
Eitan performed the first operation at Rabin Medical Center in 2021, and A.'s procedure around a year later.
The surgery is rare as this type of cancer typically occurs in the elderly and seldom affects women of reproductive age. In addition, some already have children or choose not to undergo the procedure.
