Fetal surgery for myelomeningocele
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1Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Fetal Treatment Center, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, HSW 16-01, Box 0570, San Francisco, CA 94143-0570, USA. payam.saadai@ucsfmedctr.org
Myelomeningocele (MMC) is a congenital neural tube defect that occurs in approximately 1 in 2900 live births in the United States. It is a devastating disability with significant morbidity and mortality within the first few decades of life. MMC was the first nonlethal disease to be considered and studied for fetal surgery and is now the most common open fetal surgery performed. The recently completed MOMS randomized controlled trial has shown that fetal repair for MMC can improve hydrocephalus and hindbrain herniation, can reduce the need for vetriculoperitoneal shunting, and may improve distal neurologic function in some patients.
Myelomeningocele (MMC) is a congenital neural tube defect that occurs in approximately 1 in 2900 live births in the United States. It is a devastating disability with significant morbidity and mortality within the first few decades of life. MMC was the first nonlethal disease to be considered and studied for fetal surgery and is now the most common open fetal surgery performed. The recently completed MOMS randomized controlled trial has shown that fetal repair for MMC can improve hydrocephalus and hindbrain herniation, can reduce the need for vetriculoperitoneal shunting, and may improve distal neurologic function in some patients.
