The surgeries took place on November 29 and 30 in the Department of Obstetrics, Perinatology and Gynecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, MUW. They were performed in two patients at 27 weeks of gestation with a severe form of fetal congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This type of defect occurs with a frequency of 1 in 4000 pregnancies and is associated with a very poor prognosis for the newborn. In the most severe forms of diaphragmatic hernias, the FETO procedure is a child's only chance – it was proven in a randomized trial published in the July 2021 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
FETO (Fetoscopic EndoTracheal Occlusion) procedure involves fetoscopic insertion of a miniature balloon into the fetal trachea, which significantly increases the chances of normal development of the baby's lungs. The miniature balloon will be removed at 34 weeks gestation, also using a fetoscopic technique, and the babies will undergo yet another surgery after birth.
The unique FETO surgeries were conducted by a team consisting of: Przemysław Kosiński, MD, PhD, and Professor Piotr Węgrzyn, after two months of intensive preparations. The procedure was performed in cooperation with the anaesthesiology team under the direction of Ewa Gęszka, MD, and a team of instrumentation and anaesthesia nurses under the direction of Anna Jaguś.
After the surgeries, both the patients and their children feel well.
Photography: Dr. Żaneta Słowik-Moczydłowska