Why Did Kourtney Kardashian's Baby Have Foetal Surgery?

24 May 2024, 17:02

In the new Kardashians episode, Kourtney Kardashian discusses undergoing urgent foetal surgery while pregnant with baby Rocky, who’s now seven months old.

Kourtney Kardashian was rushed into urgent foetal surgery just a couple of months before she was due to give birth to her first baby with husband Travis Barker last year and in the new season of The Kardashians, which is on Disney+ now, the mum-of-five has opened up about the traumatic ordeal.

The reality TV star made headlines last year when she was taken to hospital for her unborn baby to be operated on, just as Travis had headed off on his European tour with Blink-182.

In season five of The Kardashians, Kourtney shared a little more about what happened, revealing a doctor noticed something wasn’t right with her baby during a scan they had at home.

• Read more: Why Kourtney Kardashian Won't Show Baby Rocky's Face Any Time Soon
• Read more: When Did Kourtney Kardashian Have Her Baby?

Why did Kourtney Kardashian's baby have foetal surgery?

Kourtney's baby required urgent surgery after doctors noticed something wasn't quite right on a scan they had at home, urging her to seek the advice of specialists who then rushed her into surgery.

“We had planned a scan at home so that all the kids could see the baby and Travis was about to leave for tour,” Kourtney recalled on The Kardashians. “The doctor who came to the house to do the scan is really detailed and thorough and something caught his eye where he wanted me to see a couple specialists.”

Kourtney didn’t specify what exactly had concerned the doctors, but added that she was immediately rushed into surgery after consulting specialists.

“I had to go in for foetal surgery, where they do surgery on the baby,” Kourtney said, revealing to her friends that mum Kris Jenner took her to the hospital as she wasn’t allowed to eat or drink beforehand and couldn’t drive afterwards.

Husband Travis made his way back to the US as soon as he could, but wasn’t able to receive updates from his wife as the plane's wifi had broken.

“By the time he got home I had already had my surgery because they had to do it right away,” Kourtney continued. “So Travis, as soon as he landed he came straight to the hospital and took over and slept at the hospital with me.”

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Kourtney’s friends pointed out how good of a husband Travis is and how supportive he is of his wife.

Agreeing, Kourtney said: “I said to him after, ‘you’re really my husband’”.

Kourtney was placed on bed rest after the surgery and wasn't allowed to stand for more than 20 minutes at a time.

One of Kourtney’s friends asked how quick the complications with the baby manifested and she revealed the timing of it all ‘saved her baby’s life’.

“It was quick,” she went on. “The timing of it was miraculous, that saved everything. I just feel so grateful for how everything played out and for the doctors who helped make the best decisions that saved our baby.”

Kourtney’s doctor then warned them that what they had experienced was traumatic and that they’d need to process it.

She continued: “The doctor was like ‘that was a trauma and I want you guys to take a second and realise that was really traumatic’.”

What is foetal surgery?

Foetal surgery is a procedure performed on an unborn baby while they’re still developing in the uterus to help reduce the effects of specific birth defects and improve the long-term outcome of the child's health.

It’s used to treat a variety of life-threatening anomalies in babies before they’re born.Situations which require fetal surgery include a number of health conditions. The surgery is rare and many conditions must be met before surgery is considered.

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