A look at advances in Fetal Surgery

Abstract

Introduction: fetal surgery or prenatal surgery is a branch of medicine that is specifically  dedicated to the direct treatment of the fetus, thus eliminating or decreasing the risk of disease. It is a relatively new procedure. The use of advanced technologies allows for diagnosing diseases and congenital defects in a fetus earlier and more accurately.

Objectives: to characterize the advances in fetal surgery and its application to congenital malformations.

Materials and methods: a bibliographic review was carried out that included recent articles from Scielo, PubMed and EBSCO, as well as Cuban medical journals. 16 bibliographic references were used and the Analysis - Synthesis and Historical - Logical methods were analyzed. Fetal surgery has presented various advances over the years.

Development: fetal therapy is an emerging discipline that uses techniques to correct or repair congenital defects in fetuses, developing notably since the 1960s thanks to advances in prenatal diagnosis. Although many conditions can wait until birth to be treated, there are situations in which early intervention is crucial to avoid adverse outcomes. Surgical methods include endoluminal tracheal occlusion, myelomeningocele repair, laser ablation for twinto-twin transfusion syndrome, and intrauterine blood transfusions.

Conclusions: among the most commonly used methods are laser photocoagulation for twinto-twin transfusion syndrome, open fetal surgery, EXIT used in diaphragmatic hernias, and myelomeningocele.