Fetal surgery is not associated with increased inflammatory placental pathology

ObjectiveFetal surgery has improved neonatal outcomes; however, it is unknown if the intervention contributes to the developmental of inflammatory pathologies in the placenta. Here, an association between fetal surgery and placental pathology was examined. MethodThis case-control study compared pregnancies with fetal surgery (n = 22), pregnancies with an indication for fetal surgery but without an intervention being done (n = 13), and gestational-age and fetus-number matched controls (n = 36). Data on maternal, infant, and placental outcomes were abstracted. Additionally, immunohistochemistry identified expression of lymphoid and myeloid cells in the placenta on a subset of cases. Comparisons were performed using Kruskal-Wallis or Pearson's chi-squared tests. ResultsMaternal characteristics were comparable between groups. Most fetal interventions were for diaphragmatic hernia, spina bifida, or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Fetuses who were operated on before birth were more likely to be born preterm (p = 0.02). There was no increase in the rate of observed placental pathologies or immune cell infiltration in fetal surgery cases compared to controls. ConclusionThe data suggest that fetal surgery is not associated with increased inflammatory or morphologic pathology in the placenta. This observation supports the growing field of fetal surgery.

Automated summary

This study examined the association between fetal surgery and placental pathology. The results showed that fetal surgery was not associated with an increased rate of placental pathologies.