Fetal Medicine

Tissue Engineering and Fetal Medicine: A New Frontier for Congenital Heart Disease
Tissue Engineering and Fetal Medicine: A New Frontier for Congenital Heart Disease 1024 575 Abbie Miller
Fetus in utero receiving valvuloplasty

Procedures that utilize cardiac catheterization to improve fetal heart development are often successful, but they are not without risk. And even if they can successfully prevent the development of single ventricle disease, there is always ongoing heart valve disease (HVD). HVD may not be as life-threatening as single ventricle disease, but it requires lifelong care.…

Technical Aspects of Fetal Aortic Valvuloplasty Predict Success of the Procedure
Technical Aspects of Fetal Aortic Valvuloplasty Predict Success of the Procedure 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
Fetus in utero receiving valvuloplasty

The procedure is often successful but comes with significant risks to fetal health and life. Fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FAV) is a procedure performed mid-gestation in a subset of fetuses with aortic stenosis who would likely develop hypoplastic left heart syndrome with no intervention. Although often successful, it is a high-risk procedure that is associated with…

For Some Fetuses With HLHS, One Follow-up Echocardiogram May Be Enough
For Some Fetuses With HLHS, One Follow-up Echocardiogram May Be Enough 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood

“Not every patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, also known as HLHS, is the same: there appears to be a high-risk group that has significant atrioventricular valve regurgitation, atrial septal restriction or other concerns; and a low-risk group that, on their first scan, has none of these comorbidities of the heart,” says Bernadette Richards, FASE,…

Fetal Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty for Critical Aortic Stenosis
Fetal Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty for Critical Aortic Stenosis 1024 575 Abbie Miller
Fetus in utero receiving valvuloplasty

Some heart defects, such as aortic stenosis can be detected on fetal ultrasound. For some fetuses, an intervention can be beneficial before birth. Aimee Armstrong, MD, director of Cardiac Catheterization and Interventional Therapies at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, performs fetal balloon aortic valvuloplasty among other fetal heart catheterization procedures as part of the Congenital Heart Collaborative, a…