Feasibility of fetoscopic laser coagulation in triplet pregnancy
You Mi Hong1, Hye-Sung Won1, Ah Hyun Lee1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
To report the experiences of triplet pregnancies complicated by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) treated with fetoscopic laser coagulation at a single center.
Methods:
Herein, we conducted a retrospective analysis to investigate the management and perinatal outcomes of triplet pregnancies with TTTS treated at a single institution between 2017 and 2022.
Results:
Seven of the 98 triplet pregnancies (7.1%) encountered were complicated by TTTS, and all were dichorionic triamniotic triplets. Of the seven triplet pregnancies complicated by TTTS, four were treated with fetoscopic laser coagulation at our center, at a median gestational age of 20 weeks. No procedure-related complications or maternal complications were observed. The survival rate was higher and perinatal outcomes were better in fetoscopic laser coagulation cases than in other management cases. Four donor and four recipient triplets survived, with a median gestational age of 33 weeks at delivery. Although there were no cases of poor neonatal outcomes, one case was diagnosed with white matter injury, suspected to be hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy on postnatal investigation.
Conclusion:
Fetoscopic laser coagulation is a feasible treatment option for triplet TTTS, provided the attending specialists have extensive experience with this technique.
