ABSTRACT

The pediatric surgeon performing prenatal consultations must be aware of differences between prenatal and postnatal natural history of the anomaly. Congenital malformations account for one of the major causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity. The major causes of congenital malformation are chromosomal abnormalities, mutant genes, multifactorial disorders, and teratogenic agents. Nuchal translucency (NT) involves measuring the area at the back of fetal neck at 11–14 weeks gestation. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is extremely promising for families affected by genetic disorders but has also given rise to many legal and ethical challenges such as its use to produce an unaffected, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-compatible "savior sibling". Amniocentesis and chorionic villous sampling (CVS) are the two most commonly performed invasive diagnostic tests. Fetal blood sampling (FBS) required for the diagnosis and treatment of hematological conditions and some viral infections. The concept of fetal surgery was conceived in order to prevent fetal or early postnatal death, or to prevent permanent irreversible organ damage.