title: Encouraging early clinical experience with deliberately delayed temporary fetoscopic tracheal occlusion for the prenatal treatment of life-threatening right and left congenital diaphragmatic hernias.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In order to assess the effect of deliberately delayed percutaneous fetoscopic tracheal occlusion on survival of fetuses with life-threatening congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight fetuses with life-threatening congenital diaphragmatic hernia underwent fetoscopic tracheal balloon occlusion between 29 + 0 and 32 + 4 weeks of gestation. Delayed occlusion was chosen in order to minimize potentially negative pulmonary effects from premature delivery as a result of fetal surgery. In addition, we wanted to become able to provide all available postnatal intensive care treatment means in these patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six of the 8 fetuses survived to discharge from hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Delayed fetoscopic tracheal balloon occlusion may be rewarded with lung growth sufficient to allow survival of fetuses with life-threatening congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
authors.affiliation: German Center for Fetal Surgery and Minimally Invasive Therapy, University Hospital of Bonn, Germany. thomas.kohl@ukb.uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohl
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gembruch
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Filsinger
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hering
authors.forename: Jorgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bruhn
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tchatcheva
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aryee
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franz
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heep
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bartmann
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loff
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosie
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Neff
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schaible
mesh_terms: D021721:Balloon Occlusion; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D005332:Fetoscopy; D005865:Gestational Age; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000601:surgery*; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014132:Trachea; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal