Specialists from Clínica Alemana's Mother-Fetus Care Unit have been performing intrauterine endoscopic laser surgery for six years, something that, even now, few medical centers in the world can offer. This sophisticated technique is used to treat Feto-Fetal Transfusion Syndrome (FFTS) or Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a complication of disproportionate blood supply in single placenta twins that can result in high morbidity and morbidity of the babies.
According to the literature, if this condition remains untreated, there is a 90% chance that the two fetuses will die inside the uterus or that the pregnancy will result in a miscarriage between the 4th and 5th month. In contrast, if the problem is treated with laser surgery, the two babies have a 40% chance of survival and at least one baby can be saved in 70% of all cases.
The Clínica Alemana team of specialists in charge of these procedures includes doctors Masami Yamamoto, Julio Astudillo and Daniel Pedraza. The most recent procedure of this kind (for a total of 36) was performed on May 19th of this year. Four of these interventions were part of the teaching agreement with Padre Hurtado Hospital and 13 were done under Clínica Alemana's goodwill program. Three of these cases were referred from Hospital Sótero del Rio, four from Hospital Luis Tisné and two from Hospital Regional de Concepción. Two of the cases were from abroad (Peru and Ecuador).
Dr. Yamamoto, one of the team members, points out that, Offering this therapeutic opportunity to the community, including low-income patients, is tremendously gratifying. We are very pleased to be contributing this way to the development of the country. Additionally, relations with regional hospitals have led to improved trust, solidarity and technical support among those involved.
In the procedures performed at Clínica Alemana, at least one baby has been saved 76% of the time, a figure that is similar to that reported by international centers.
One should also highlight that none of these surgeries have represented any risk for the mother, mainly because all of them have been performed using minimally invasive techniques. "None of the patients have suffered pulmonary edema or damage to nearby organs, and none have needed to be hospitalized in the ICU", adds Dr. Yamamoto.
These results can seen as very satisfactory, especially considering that some Clínica Alemana cases were pregnancies with contractions, abnormal Doppler blood flow patterns or anterior placenta, all of which are highly risky conditions. One must also take into account that the level of the maternity wards where the patients came from and their distance from Clínica Alemana varied.
