Archive for fetal medicine
Years in the making: Team performs successful fetal intervention for VOGM
On an ordinary Wednesday in March, a team of specialists from two institutions made the extraordinary happen: a first-of-its-kind intervention for a rare, life-threatening type of blood vessel anomaly called a vein of Galen malformation (VOGM) — performed in utero. The ultrasound-guided embolization involves deploying tiny metal coils into the affected vein via a microcatheter ... Read More
Changing the world: Baby Denver leads the way after first-of-its-kind procedure for VOGM
Denver Coleman is less than 2 months old, but she’s already helped blaze a trail for other children and families, a feat she accomplished before she was even born. Denver, who was diagnosed with a vein of Galen malformation — a type of rare blood vessel abnormality inside the brain — in utero, is the ... Read More
After complex heart surgery, Yah’ir is all smiles
Christina Moreland and Jimmy Austin want their 6-month-old son, Yah’ir, to have a bright future, one where he can pursue all of his dreams. “He can do whatever he wants to do,” Christina says. There’s just one caveat, an understandable one considering that Yah’ir is recovering from complex heart surgery. “As long as he doesn’t ... Read More
‘I did it!’ Micah is thriving after maternal-fetal care for a CPAM
Dr. Marla Lipsyc-Sharf is no stranger to the field of medicine: As a medical oncology fellow, she’s familiar with the human body and the health challenges that can arise. But it still came as a shock when — 20 weeks into a healthy pregnancy — she and her husband, Jeremiah, learned during an ultrasound that ... Read More
‘Our silver lining’: Mila is thriving after CDH repair
For Katie, last St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t an occasion for revelry. Instead, it was the day an ultrasound revealed that their daughter, Mila, would be born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In this condition, the diaphragm — the layer of muscle and tissue between the chest and abdominal cavity — forms with a hole ... Read More
Unstoppable: Cairo’s journey for kidney care began even before birth
Like lots of babies, Cairo Carter was born screaming — and his parents were thrilled. “We just wanted him to scream so we knew he could breathe,” explains his mother, Alaila. The family cried tears of joy and relief, but they understood that the moment was just the first step of a long journey. “We ... Read More
Fetal brain imaging predicts neurodevelopment of babies with congenital heart disease
Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) often have neurodevelopmental impairment. Until fairly recently, this was thought to stem from complications of cardiac surgery or reduced oxygen supply to the brain due to the heart defect. Now we know that some babies with CHD have impaired brain development in utero because of low oxygen supply to ... Read More
A legend for Zora: How genomic testing provides answers in the face of grief
So often after a perinatal loss, parents are left with uncertainty about what caused their baby’s death and the haunting question, “what if.” To help grieving families find answers to these questions, Dr. Monica Wojcik and her colleagues in the Division of Newborn Medicine are conducting genomic autopsies to learn if and what genetic factors ... Read More
Piecing together the preterm infant microbiome
The human microbiome — the collection of microbes living in the gut — is now recognized as an important contributor to health and disease. The environment, the host, and microbe-microbe interactions are all likely to shape the microbiome’s dynamics, but the unique roles of each are not well understood. Now, a Boston Children’s Hospital infectious ... Read More
Innovative new shunt delivery system holds promise for treatment of fetal urinary tract obstruction
Urinary tract obstruction that occurs in utero can have serious consequences for the fetus. Such obstructions can block the flow of fetal urine, which makes up amniotic fluid. Without adequate levels of amniotic fluid, a fetus may not develop properly, especially in terms of the fetal lungs. Fetal urinary tract obstructions can range from mild ... Read More