Maternal-Fetal Surgery

Forum Chair(s)

• 

  Alireza Shamshirsaz, MD

  Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 

  Ali Javinani, MD (he/him/his)

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

This year, the forum is designed to address three important and emerging topics in the field of fetal medicine and surgery, from different teams and perspectives.

First, the forum will begin with a discussion of three different techniques that have been applied and recently investigated for the intrauterine treatment of fetal hydrocephalus. Although this topic was studied decades ago with limited success, emerging evidence from animal studies, combined with advances in technology and our expertise in fetal surgery, suggests that we may now be able to change the trajectory of this condition.

In the second section, we will explore various surgical techniques for anchoring the membrane during fetal interventions. Premature prelabor rupture of membranes and preterm birth are leading causes of poor outcomes in patients undergoing fetal interventions. The emerging techniques offer hope for improving surgical outcomes.

Lastly, we will review three important recent, ongoing, and upcoming studies in the field of fetal medicine. We will emphasize what we have learned from these studies and discuss how we should educate the next generation of researchers and fetal specialists to design more effective studies that address unanswered questions in this field.

Presentations:

• 3:00 PM - 3:05 PM  

  Welcome and Introductions
  

  Forum Speaker: Alireza A. Shamshirsaz, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

  Forum Speaker: Ali Javinani, MD (he/him/his) – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
• 3:05 PM - 3:15 PM  

  Ventriculo-amniotic Shunting
  

  Forum Speaker: Stephen P. Emery, MD (he/him/his) – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• 3:15 PM - 3:25 PM  

  Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV)
  

  Forum Speaker: Jose L. Peiro, MBA, MD, PhD – Cincinnati Children's Fetal Care Center
• 3:25 PM - 3:35 PM  

  Ventriculo-subgaleal (VSG) Shunting
  

  Forum Speaker: Alireza A. Shamshirsaz, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
• 3:35 PM - 3:45 PM  

  Panel Discussion with Q&A
• 3:45 PM - 3:55 PM  

  The ChorioAnchor
  

  Forum Speaker: Jimmy Espinoza, MD, MSc – Division of Fetal Intervention, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
• 3:55 PM - 4:05 PM  

  The WestStitch Suture Delivery System
  

  Forum Speaker: Eric P. Bergh, MD – Nemours Children's Health
• 4:05 PM - 4:15 PM  

  Perclose ProGlide Suture-Mediated Closure System
  

  Forum Speaker: Eyal Krispin, MD (he/him/his) – Harvard Medical School

  Forum Speaker: Braxton Forde, MD – University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• 4:15 PM - 4:25 PM  

  Panel Discussion with Q&A
• 4:25 PM - 4:35 PM  

  The Sequential Trial: Randomized controlled trial of twin-twin transfusion syndrome laser surgery
  

  Forum Speaker: Ramen H. Chmait, MD (he/him/his) – Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
• 4:35 PM - 4:45 PM  

  CONTRAST Study: Selective fetal growth restriction in monoChOrioNic Twins: an inteRnAtional regiSTry
  

  Forum Speaker: Anne Noll, MD (she/her/hers) – Karolinska University Hospital
• 4:45 PM - 4:58 PM  

  FLUMEN Study: Fetoscopic Laser photocoagUlation in ManagemENt of vasa previa
  

  Forum Speaker: Ali Javinani, MD (he/him/his) – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
• 4:58 PM - 5:00 PM  

  Wrap-up and Evaluations
  

  Forum Speaker: Alireza A. Shamshirsaz, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

  Forum Speaker: Ali Javinani, MD (he/him/his) – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School