Maternal outcome after minimally-invasive fetoscopic surgery for spina bifida aperta – The Gießen experience 2010 to 2013

Purpose: Minimally-invasive fetoscopic surgery for spina bifida (SBA) improves postnatal neurological outcome of affected fetuses. The purpose of this study was to provide an update on the maternal morbidity of this novel surgical approach for counseling. Patients/Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 42 women who underwent minimally-invasive fetoscopic surgery for fetal SBA between July 2010 and April 2013. Mean gestational age at surgery was 23.7 weeks (range 21.0 – 28.7). We studied our charts for the perioperative occurrence of maternal pulmonary edema, chorioamnionitis, chorioamniotic membrane s…