Fetal Surgery

Overview

Fetal Surgery is a specialized field of maternal-fetal medicine in which the unborn fetus is treated surgically before birth to correct or mitigate congenital anomalies that would otherwise cause death or serious morbidity. It emerged from advances in prenatal imaging, fetal physiology, and minimally invasive technique, and is practiced by multidisciplinary teams combining maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric surgery, anesthesiology, and neonatology. Interventions span a spectrum of invasiveness: image-guided percutaneous procedures such as shunt placement and needle therapies; fetoscopic operations performed through small uterine ports; and open hysterotomy for direct repair of the fetus. Established indications include thoracic lesions and effusions that cause fetal hydrops, congenital pulmonary airway malformation and pulmonary sequestration, lower urinary tract obstruction, and congenital diaphragmatic hernia, for which prenatal prognostication and procedures such as fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion guide management. A central rationale is to interrupt the cascade of secondary organ damage, particularly pulmonary hypoplasia and high-output cardiac failure, before it becomes irreversible. Animal models, including nitrofen-induced diaphragmatic hernia in rodents, support investigation of lung development and the timing of intervention. Because every procedure carries maternal risk and the possibility of preterm labor, candidate selection rests on careful imaging-based prognostication, balancing the potential fetal benefit against risks to both mother and fetus.

Research published in this journal

5 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.

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