Abstract
Objective: Fetal surgery has improved neonatal outcomes; however, it is unknown if the intervention contributes to the developmental of inflammatory pathologies in the placenta. Here, an association between fetal surgery and placental pathology was examined. Method: This case-control study compared pregnancies with fetal surgery (n = 22), pregnancies with an indication for fetal surgery but without an intervention being done (n = 13), and gestational-age and fetus-number matched controls (n = 36). Data on maternal, infant, and placental outcomes were abstracted. Additionally, immunohistochemistry identified expression of lymphoid and myeloid cells in the placenta on a subset of cases. Comparisons were performed using Kruskal-Wallis or Pearson's chi-squared tests. Results: Maternal characteristics were comparable between groups. Most fetal interventions were for diaphragmatic hernia, spina bifida, or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Fetuses who were operated on before birth were more likely to be born preterm (p = 0.02). There was no increase in the rate of observed placental pathologies or immune cell infiltration in fetal surgery cases compared to controls. Conclusion: The data suggest that fetal surgery is not associated with increased inflammatory or morphologic pathology in the placenta. This observation supports the growing field of fetal surgery.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 382-392 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Prenatal Diagnosis |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2023 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Genetics(clinical)