Children's hosts international symposium on Advances in Fetal Care
When a fetal anomaly is detected prenatally, parents often must make do with limited or inaccurate information, since most centers have scant experience with these anomalies. In April, the Advanced Fetal Care Center (AFCC) at Children's Hospital Boston, one of the leading centers in the nation, hosted an international conference to share its expertise.
The multidisciplinary conference included sessions on fetal imaging, fetal tissue engineering and stem cell repair, genetic diagnosis, and the handling of specific cardiac, neurologic, urologic, craniofacial and gastrointestinal anomalies.
The highlight was an hour-long session on fetal imaging and interventions for congenital heart disease, simultaneously webcast at www.or-live.com/childrenshospitalboston/1357/ (viewable until April 2006).
Founded in 1999 by fetal surgeon Rusty Jennings, MD, the AFCC has performed 83 fetal interventions, including 50 cardiac procedures and 24 ex intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedures, which are surgeries on a partially-delivered fetus, usually to clear airway obstructions, while sustained by the mother's placenta.
The AFCC's major role, however, is advanced fetal imaging and detailed prenatal counseling; fewer than 10 percent of referred women have actually had fetal interventions. A survey of the program's first 700 women revealed that 83 percent of those who had considered terminating their pregnancy based on the original diagnosis changed their minds after imaging and counseling at Children's. More than 90 percent of those who continued their pregnancies delivered live infants. After birth, infants are referred to Children's pediatric sub-specialists.
The AFCC hopes to host another international conference in the fall of 2006. Meanwhile, it remains the go-to resource for fetal consultations among Boston-area hospitals, drawing standing-room-only audiences at its weekly case conferences.
A publication for pediatric caregivers from Children's Hospital Boston 
