Faculty Collaboration Database

Placental Location in Maternal-Fetal Surgery for Myelomeningocele. Fetal Diagn Ther 2022;49(3):117-124

Date

12/17/2021

Pubmed ID

34915495

DOI

10.1159/000521379

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85130635870 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   1 Citation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Uterine incision based on the placental location in open maternal-fetal surgery (OMFS) has never been evaluated in regard to maternal or fetal outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether an anterior placenta was associated with increased rates of intraoperative, perioperative, antepartum, obstetric, or neonatal complications in mothers and babies who underwent OMFS for fetal myelomeningocele (fMMC) closure.

METHODS: Data from the international multicenter prospective registry of patients who underwent OMFS for fMMC closure (fMMC Consortium Registry, December 15, 2010-June 31, 2019) was used to compare fetal and maternal outcomes between anterior and posterior placental locations.

RESULTS: The placental location for 623 patients was evenly distributed between anterior (51%) and posterior (49%) locations. Intraoperative fetal bradycardia (8.3% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.005) and performance of fetal resuscitation (3.6% vs. 1.0%, p = 0.034) occurred more frequently in cases with an anterior placenta when compared to those with a posterior placenta. Obstetric outcomes including membrane separation, placental abruption, and spontaneous rupture of membranes were not different among the 2 groups. However, thinning of the hysterotomy site (27.7% vs. 17.7%, p = 0.008) occurred more frequently in cases of an anterior placenta. Gestational age (GA) at delivery (p = 0.583) and length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (p = 0.655) were similar between the 2 groups. Fetal incision dehiscence and wound revision were not significantly different between groups. Critical clinical outcomes including fetal demise, perinatal death, and neonatal death were all infrequent occurrences and not associated with the placental location.

CONCLUSIONS: An anterior placental location is associated with increased risk of intraoperative fetal resuscitation and increased thinning at the hysterotomy closure site. Individual institutional experiences may have varied, but the aggregate data from the fMMC Consortium did not show a significant impact on the GA at delivery or maternal or fetal clinical outcomes.

Author List

Lillegard JB, Eyerly-Webb SA, Watson DA, Bahtiyar MO, Bennett KA, Emery SP, Fisher AJ, Goldstein RB, Goodnight WH, Lim FY, McCullough LB, Moehrlen U, Moldenhauer JS, Moon-Grady AJ, Ruano R, Skupski DW, Treadwell MC, Tsao K, Wagner AJ, Zaretsky MV, fMMC Consortium Sponsored by NAFTnet

Author

Amy Wagner MD Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Female
Fetal Therapies
Gestational Age
Humans
Hysterotomy
Infant, Newborn
Meningomyelocele
Placenta
Pregnancy