Every four and a half minutes, a baby in the U.S. is born with a birth defect, which translates to about 120,000 babies each year, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant deaths, accounting for 20% of all deaths in the first year of life.
“There can be no more terrifying situation for an expectant parent than to find out something is wrong with their unborn child,” said Kenneth Liechty, MD, professor and division chief for pediatric surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.
According to Liechty, the first fetal surgery in 1981 opened the door to the early diagnosis and treatment of fetal anomalies in gestation, resulting in lives saved and prevention of lifetime disabilities. Unfortunately, many health centers do not have the requisite experience and resources to provide accurate and prognostic information to affected parents. In addition, even when capabilities exist to diagnose the condition, often there is not enough multidisciplinary and surgical expertise available locally or regionally to correct the problem, in the womb, once diagnosed.
The field of fetal surgery has advanced significantly as a subspecialty over the past four decades, yet fetal diagnosis and treatment centers are far and few in between. Until now, the presence of fetal anomalies resulted in significant travel during pregnancy and for delivery and care of the infant, or alternately, termination of the pregnancy or acceptance of a lifetime of disability for the child.
To help parents and their unborn babies, the College of Medicine – Tucson and Banner – University Medical Center Tucson launched the Fetal Diagnosis and Surgery Center. The new center will provide minimally invasive treatments for twins early in gestation, placements of shunts to correct abnormal life-threatening fluid collections during fetal development, and repair of significant fetal anomalies, such as spina bifida, in the womb.
“We have assembled a highly specialized team to provide the highest level of care, for the first time, to affected families in Arizona and the desert Southwest region who will no longer be limited by their ability to travel but will receive this type of care, close to home, with family and community support during a very stressful time,” Liechty said.
A fetal care center provides important diagnostic and treatment capabilities, and the successful outcome of these procedures relies on developing a better understanding of the natural history of fetal anomalies.
The Fetal Diagnosis and Surgery center will advance prior, ongoing and future research projects, including the development of animal models of human fetal diseases such as spina bifida to provide researchers with a better understanding of the pathophysiology to develop and test new interventions. Also, dysregulated healing following fetal surgery can lead to serious maternal, placental and fetal complications with subsequent pregnancies. Using these same models, researchers are gaining an improved understanding of how cellular, gene and biomaterial therapies can improve uterine healing.
“The establishment of a fetal surgery research program, as an essential component of the Fetal Care Center in Tucson, will promote discovery and innovation towards improving both fetal and maternal outcomes when expectant parents are faced with fetal anomalies,” said Michael M.I. Abecassis, MD, MBA, Iovanna C. Lopez dean of the College of Medicine – Tucson.
