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Fetal Center

Assessing the Clinical Utility of a Fetal Echocardiogram When a Sibling Has Congenital Heart Disease
 Assessing the Clinical Utility of a Fetal Echocardiogram When a Sibling Has Congenital Heart Disease 1024 695 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By: JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
Pregnant woman smiling and holding her belly while awaiting a fetal echocardiogram to check her baby’s heart health during pregnancy.

A fetal echocardiogram when a sibling has congenital heart disease may not be clinically necessary if the fetus has a normal second-trimester level II ultrasound. A retrospective study led by Kacy Taylor, MSAH, RDCS, FASE, concluded that critical congenital heart disease (CHD) was not missed when a level two ultrasound (LII-US) was normal in a…

Meet Karen Texter, MD, Director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s
 Meet Karen Texter, MD, Director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s 1024 691 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Karen Texter, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist and director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s. Her clinical and research interests include echocardiography in congenital and acquired heart disease and fetal cardiology. What inspired you to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology? How did you get into fetal cardiology, specifically? My interest in pediatric cardiology really…

Advancing Care for Infants with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: New Insights into Maternal and Community Health Factors
 Advancing Care for Infants with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: New Insights into Maternal and Community Health Factors 1024 537 Pam Georgiana
By: Pam Georgiana

Nationwide Children’s Heart Center explores the impact of maternal and social determinants of health on congenital heart disease. While maternal-fetal environment factors are known to impact outcomes in babies who receive the traditional Norwood surgery to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), there is little research on how the maternal-fetal environment affects outcomes after the…

Early Detection and Multidisciplinary Care: Successful Management of Duodenal Atresia
 Early Detection and Multidisciplinary Care: Successful Management of Duodenal Atresia 1024 737 Pam Georgiana
By: Pam Georgiana
person in scrubs holding a baby

The team in the Fetal Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital shares their comprehensive approach for best possible outcomes.  When a routine ultrasound reveals two enlarged, fluid-filled bubbles in the baby’s abdomen, known as the “double bubble” sign, pregnant patients and their families often feel scared and concerned. These bubbles indicate duodenal atresia, a congenital condition…

Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida: Supporting A Bright Future Closer to Home
 Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida: Supporting A Bright Future Closer to Home 150 150 Alaina Doklovic
By: Alaina Doklovic

During her 20-week ultrasound appointment, Brittany Badenhop learned her baby had spina bifida, a term used to describe many disorders that occur during the development of the central nervous system. Spina bifida occurs very early on in a pregnancy as the embryo forms. Brittany and her husband Jared learned that their baby’s spine was not…

Meet Oluyinka Olutoye, MD, PhD
 Meet Oluyinka Olutoye, MD, PhD 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

In August 2019, Nationwide Children’s welcomed Oluyinka Olutoye, MD, PhD, as surgeon-in-chief. In a Q&A, the internationally renowned fetal surgeon shares his thoughts about the past, present and future of fetal surgery and the challenges and opportunities facing pediatric surgeons today.   Q: What brought you to Nationwide Children’s Hospital? I was initially attracted to…