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Giving Families a Fighting Chance: How Fetal Surgery Saves Lives Before Birth

For today's practicing physicians, many of the scientific advancements now occurring seemed like the stuff of science fiction during their training years. Leading the way in these advancements are fetal care and in-utero surgery. Over the past 50 years, the field of maternal fetal medicine has seen exponential growth, elevating the importance of fetal care centers. These medical innovations have enabled specialists to treat the unborn fetus as a distinct patient, providing lifesaving care before birth. 

Listen to our pediatric expert discuss advancements in fetal surgery

In this episode, Sarkis (Chris) Derderian, MD, joins us for a deep dive into the past, present and future of fetal surgery. “I think it’s going to be revolutionary what we can do,” Dr. Derderian says. “It’s a space that’s pushing the envelope to provide a new quality of life.”  

Dr. Derderian is a pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital Colorado and an assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. 

In this episode, our expert discusses:

  • Optimal age of intervention for meningomyelocele 
  • Selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation therapy for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome 
  • Fetoscopic endotracheal occlusion for severe cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia 
  • An overview of ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT procedure) 
  • Diagnosing disease processes early in gestation 
  • The role of animations for patient education  
  • The future potential of fetal surgery

Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Maternal fetal medicine at Children's Colorado

Whether you want to refer a patient to our Colorado Fetal Care Center, learn about the latest maternal fetal medicine research or improve care in your own practice, our fetal care experts are here for you.

Refer a patient to Children’s Colorado.