This week, the CNN Vital Signs discusses advances in fetal medicine, showing life-saving surgeries that change the prognosis of patients in the womb. During pregnancy, it is possible to detect, treat and even cure diseases.
The program, presented by cardiologist Roberto Kalil, will air this Wednesday (1st), at 10:30 pm, right after the CNN Newspaper, in the prime belt of the CNN Brasil.
Back at the hospital where he was born, in the central region of São Paulo, Roberto Kalil talks with one of the greatest specialists on the subject, Fábio Peralta, from Pro Matre and Hospital do Coração (HCor).
“We treat problems from the central nervous system to the heart, from the chest to the kidneys and urinary tract. All this inside the belly. The surgeries can be open or with the use of endoscopy, which is the major part. It all depends on the disease and the baby’s condition”, explains Peralta (see interview in the video above).
Over the course of five months, the program’s staff followed two fetal surgeries and the delivery of a child who was operated on inside the uterus to correct a condition called myelomeningocele, also known as spina bifida.
The defect in the baby’s spine affects the central nervous system, can generate hydrocephalus (accumulation of fluid in the brain) and increase the chances of paralysis by more than 80%. One of the ways to avoid this problem is with folic acid supplementation by women at least three months before becoming pregnant, always with medical supervision.
The episode also recalls the first successful fetal surgery in Brazil to correct the Feto-Fetal Transfusion Syndrome, one of the most serious situations in the pregnancy of twins sharing the same placenta. When one baby starts getting more blood than the other, there is a 95% chance of pregnancy loss or neurological damage to the child.
Specialist in fetal medicine Denise Lapa, from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, was the one who conducted the first surgery of its kind in Brazil in 1997, but only one baby survived. Six years later, in 2003, she managed to save the two babies without any sequels.
The report of CNN he also spoke with the family of Henrique and Gabriel Gibertoni, who are now 17 years old. “The fetus is a wonderful patient because he has an incredible capacity for self-repair. As we gain knowledge and treat new diseases, we see the wonderful things they can do”, highlights Denise.
Currently, the most frequent health problems in fetuses that allow intervention inside the uterus are: myelomeningocele, fetal fetal transfusion, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, bladder obstruction and congenital heart disease.
At Hospital do Coração (HCor), the program presents care for the health of the heart of fetuses during pregnancy.
O CNN Vital Signs can be viewed at alternative times on Saturdays at 1:15 pm and 3:05 am, and on Sundays at 8:15 pm and 5:15 am.
Reference: CNN Brasil