Fetal therapy

Authors

  • Mirosław Wielgoś – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa
  • Marzena Dębska – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa
  • Michał Lipa – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa
  • Ewelina Litwińska – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa
  • Magdalena Litwińska – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa
  • Natalia Mazanowska – Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, I Katedra i Klinika Położnictwa i Ginekologii, Uniwersyteckie Centrum Zdrowia Kobiety i Noworodka WUM, Warszawa

Keywords:

fetal therapy, fetal surgery, prenatal therapy

Abstract

Maternal-fetal medicine is a dynamically developing field, which enables not only to diagnose and treat maternal diseases but also condtions of an unoborn child developing in a womb. Fetal therapy is a highly specialized branch of maternal-fetal medicine which offers surgeries before birth. Prenatal intervensions aim to correct or diminish unfavorable effects of a fetal congenital defect. However, the starting point for a succesful intrauterine therapy is always a thorough prenatal diagnosis and an extensive knowledge regarding fetal pathophysiology in each case. Fetal surgery is now an established but still rapidly evolving specialty, born from the rationale that destructive embryologic processes, recognized early in gestation, can be curtailed by prenatal correction. Prenatal surgical techniques have evolved from highly invasive interventions involving hysterotomy to minimally-invasive fetoscopic interventions. However, there is still space for research aiming to find solutions including pharmacological treatment. In this review we aimed to present various conditions in which fetal surgery has been attempted and the present the current status of this specialty.

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Issue

No. 3 (2022)

Section

Articles