title: Maternal aspects of fetal cardiac intervention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fetal cardiac interventions have the potential to alter natural disease progression and reduce morbidity and mortality in children. Although there are already encouraging data on fetal outcome, information on maternal morbidity and mortality after intervention is scarce. The aim of the present study was to assess maternal aspects, pregnancy-associated risks and adverse events in 53 intrauterine cardiac interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 2000 and December 2012, 53 fetal cardiac interventions were performed in 47 patients (43 aortic valve dilations in 39 patients, seven pulmonary valve dilations in six patients and three balloon atrioseptostomies in two patients). Median gestational age was 26 + 4 (range, 20 + 3 to 33 + 1) weeks. Interventions were performed by an ultrasound-guided percutaneous approach under general anesthesia. All medical records and patient charts were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All women were considered to be healthy in the preoperative assessment; 39 (83%) patients continued pregnancy until term and eight of 47 patients had an intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) and were induced. Postoperative nausea was reported in 29.8% of patients and abdominal pain in 36.2% of patients on the day of surgery. Preterm contractions were observed in two patients; no preterm prelabor rupture of membranes occurred. One severe postpartum hemorrhage was observed in a patient with IUFD and subsequent induction; however, this was unrelated to the balloon valvuloplasty. No intensive care unit admission and no major anesthesia-associated complications (aspiration, anaphylactic reaction, cardiovascular collapse, damage to teeth, laryngeal damage, awareness or hypoxic brain damage) were observed. Maternal mortality was zero. A significant learning curve was observed in terms of duration of intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our experience, percutaneous needle-guided fetal cardiac intervention seems to be a safe procedure for the mother. In 53 procedures no major maternal complication directly related to the intervention was observed.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Heart Center, Linz, Austria; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wohlmuth
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tulzer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Arzt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gitter
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wertaschnigg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054087:Atrial Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D005318:Fetal Heart; D005865:Gestational Age; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000196:embryology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D061646:Operative Time; D020250:Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: fetal cardiac intervention; fetal surgery; intrauterine valvuloplasty; maternal morbidity; maternal-fetal surgery; percutaneous ultrasound-guided procedure