At the end of 2023, interventional procedures for critical heart defects in fetuses will be added to the surgeries performed at Warsaw's Bielański Hospital. - The smallest hearts require the care of top-notch specialists and the best quality equipment, stresses Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
Bielański Hospital operates on heart defects in fetuses
Published Jan. 11, 2024 10:13
fot. iStock
Operations on fetal hearts are most often performed between the 24th and 33rd weeks of pregnancy and are among the most difficult intrauterine procedures. At the end of last year, specialists at Warsaw's Bielański Hospital performed four such procedures.
- We specialize in pregnancies complicated by fetal congenital malformations, and I am very pleased that we perform very important prenatal therapy procedures on fetal hearts. We have a qualified team of specialists in gynecology, obstetrics and perinatology, i.e. maternal-fetal medicine, on site, and we cooperate with cardiologists, neurosurgeons, pediatric neurologists, and thanks to this we are one of the few centers that offers such a wide range of fetal therapy," assesses Katarzyna Kosinska-Kachinska, MD, CMKP professor, head of the Department of Obstetrics, Perinatology and Neonatology at Bielański Hospital.
Modern ultrasound equipment makes it possible to diagnose heart defects as early as the 12th week of pregnancy. It is necessary to view the heart in subsequent ultrasound examinations, because the picture of cardiovascular pathology changes and some pathologies are revealed in older fetuses. If a defect is suspected, it is important to quickly consult a cardiologist and decide on the indications for intrauterine therapy.
Nearly seventy intrauterine surgeries were performed at Bielański Hospital last year alone, including fetoscopic surgeries for fetal spina bifida, fetal transfusions, fetoscopic procedures for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and other complications of multifetal pregnancies and obstructive uropathies.
- I am very happy that we are performing prenatal heart therapy procedures on fetuses. Procedures that often save children's lives. At the moment, we are one of the few centers in Europe performing procedures on fetal hearts and offering a full range of intrauterine procedures. This would not be possible if it were not for the excellent team of doctors working right here at Bielański Hospital," adds Dorota Galczynska-Zych, director of Bielański Hospital in Warsaw.
In the coming weeks, Bielany specialists have three more fetal heart procedures planned. The next one will be in mid-January.
Compiled. on the basis of: um.warszawa.pl
