Children's Hospital Colorado

TTTS Surgery and Recovery

Contact the Colorado Fetal Care Center

720-777-4463

The road to recovery after TTTS laser surgery

For moms carrying twins diagnosed with TTTS, their anxieties may not subside until they meet their babies. Here, your team is made of multidisciplinary maternal, fetal and pediatric experts, all collaborating to provide the specialized care you and your babies need – before, during and after delivery. We provide a wholly integrated experience for mothers and their babies, and you can rest assured that you and your baby are in the best of hands.

Our families discuss their experience with fetal surgery

These families share how they felt after undergoing fetal surgery, the ups and downs of the recovery process, and what helped them hold onto hope along the way.

TTTS treatment resources

Our Maternal Fetal Medicine Program

With a complex fetal condition like TTTS, doctors are really caring for multiple patients at the same time: the mom and her babies. That's why your care team should be as comprehensive as the disease is complex.

Read about our care

Treating TTTS with laser surgery

To stop the unbalanced exchange of fluids between the twins, our fetal surgeons seal off the abnormal blood vessel connections. How? With fetoscopic laser photocoagulation.

Beating the bed rest blues: things to do on bed rest

Not all moms with TTTS are prescribed bed rest, but for those that are, bed rest means reducing their activity levels. For Nicole, being on bed rest didn't mean she was taking it easy. After undergoing her laser procedure, she found ways to distract herself from counting the days until her babies reached 32 weeks.

Check out her advice for staying busy while on bed rest – and still obeying the doctors' orders.

  • Find strength in friendship

    Visit with friends before the babies arrive, because you'll be booked up once they're here. Call, write letters and invite friends over to keep you company.

  • Nest while you rest

    Get your home ready for your babies without leaving your bed. You can design the nursery on Pinterest, fold baby clothes, select paint samples and shop for the essentials online.

  • Start (and stick to) a routine

    If your doctor okays a daily trip around the house, plan how you'll spend it. Whether it's a chance to water the plants or make snacks, it can give your day structure and help you find your rhythm.

  • Stay busy

    Knit, crochet, scrapbook or draw. Pick up hobbies that keep your mind and hands busy.

  • Exercise your mind

    Stay sharp by reading books and completing puzzles like crossword or Sudoku.

  • Keep it light

    Forget about anything serious; watch feel-good movies and TV shows.

  • Prepare for parenthood

    Use this time to become a parenting expert. Watch childbirth classes, virtually attend Lamaze, browse mom blogs, and read parenting books and magazines.

  • Say no to search engines

    Going down the Google rabbit hole will make you stress, not rest. Switch to parenting blogs instead of searching for medical advice online.

  • Get ready for your babies' arrival

    You can make your birth plan, sort through insurance, find a babysitter, pick a pediatrician and handle all of the new baby logistics – without leaving your bedroom.

TTTS by the numbers

At the Colorado Fetal Care Center, we see and treat more babies with rare fetal conditions like twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). This means that here, the rare becomes common. Our maternal fetal medicine specialist, Dr. Nicholas Behrendt, breaks down our outcomes, volumes and research, and what it all means for your babies.

See how we stack the odds in your favor.

Nicole talks to Alyssa about her experience with TTTS
"It's pretty remarkable that after everything we went through, the babies were fine."
Nicole, Mila and Ciela's mom

Additional fetal care resources

Partnership with the University of Colorado School of Medicine

Children's Hospital Colorado partners with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where many of our physicians and care providers serve as faculty.