title: [Limits and possibilities of pediatric surgery].
abstract: Organ damage in some congenital defects can be so grave that not even the best postnatal treatment is able to guarantee survival. Treatment can also result in an unsatisfactory outcome. The defect can also become worse during fetal development. Today, fetal imaging is able to produce accurate anatomic and pathophysiologic information about the developing organ system already starting from weeks 18 to 20 of pregnancy. This has enabled corrective procedures for the fetus. For the time being, conclusive scientific evidence of the efficacy of invasive fetal therapies is available only for the twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and fetal meningomyelocele.
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rintala
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pakarinen
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D046128:Fetal Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*