Incidence and impact of perioperative complications in 175 fetoscopy-guided laser coagulations of chorionic plate anastomoses in fetofetal transfusion syndrome before 26 weeks of gestation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perioperative complications in fetoscopy-guided laser therapy in fetofetal transfusion syndrome. Details of fetofetal transfusion syndrome cases who were delivered between 1999 and 2004 in a single center were reviewed retrospectively. One hundred seventy-five procedures were performed percutaneously with the use of local anesthesia. Survival at 6 months of at least 1, 1, and 2 babies was 73%, 38%, and 35%, respectively. Placental abruption and miscarriage was diagnosed in 3 and 12 cases, respectively. Premature rupture of membranes occurred in 49 cases (28%) and including 12, 29, and 46 cases that occurred before 24, 28, and 34 weeks of gestation, respectively. The entry of the trocar was transplacental in 48 cases (27%), but it was not associated with miscarriage (P = .26), premature rupture of membranes (P = .58), or placental abruption (P = .37). Fetoscopic laser treatment of fetofetal transfusion syndrome can be performed percutaneously with local anesthesia without significant maternal morbidity. Transplacental entry was not associated with premature rupture of membranes or miscarriage.