Category: Fetal Therapy

On March 9, 2024, The Fetal Institute proudly held its annual Fetal Reunion 2024. This heartwarming event brought together former patients and their families along with Dr. Ruben Quintero and Dr. Eftichia Kontopoulos, founders of The Fetal Institute.

This year marked the third successful collaboration with the Brianna Marie Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides resources, assistance, and advocacy for families navigating the complexities of adverse fetal diagnoses.

“It’s a moment of profound gratitude for the care we provided and the incredible trust our patients and their families placed on us to help them with their complicated pregnancy,” said Dr. Kontopoulos about the significance of the event. “Every miracle baby we see is proof of the collaborative effort between our team and the unwavering determination of these families.”

“The Fetal Institute Reunion is a celebration of life, love, and the extraordinary achievements made possible through advanced fetal medicine, collective care and support.”

“This is our opportunity to meet our patients and their families again, after the pregnancy that brought them to us, and to get to know their babies whom we only knew once as fetuses. It is also a time to reflect upon our limitations and remember those
babies whom we couldn’t help,” added Dr. Quintero. “It is a mighty stimulus for us to
continue to develop new and better ways to help babies before birth.”

On behalf of The Fetal Institute, we extend our sincere appreciation to the Brianna Marie Foundation and all supporters for their invaluable contributions to the success of The Fetal Institute Reunion 2024. With your help, we continue to bring awareness about fetal conditions and fetal therapy.

Check out all the photos from this year’s reunion:

Fetal surgery draws principally from the fields of surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics– especially the subspecialties of neonatology (care of newborns, especially high-risk ones), maternal-fetal medicine (care of high-risk pregnancies), and pediatric surgery.

It often involves training in obstetrics, pediatrics, and mastery of both invasive and non-invasive surgery, meaning it takes several years of residency, and at least one fellowship (usually more than one year), to be able to become proficient. It is possible in the U.S. to become trained in this approach whether one started in obstetrics, pediatrics, or surgery.

Because of the very high risk and high complexity of these cases, they are usually performed at Level I trauma centers in large cities at academic medical centers,- offering the full spectrum of maternal and newborn care, including a high level neonatal intensive care unit (level IV is the highest) and suitable operating theaters and equipment, and a high number of surgeons and physicians, nurse specialists, therapists, and a social work and counseling team. The cases can be referred from multiple levels of hospitals from many miles, sometimes across state and provincial lines. In continents other than North America and Europe, these centers are not as numerous, though the techniques are spreading.

Most problems do not require or are not treatable through fetal intervention. The exceptions are anatomical problems for which correction in utero is feasible and may be of significant benefit in the future development and survival of the fetus. Early correction (prior to birth) of these problems will likely increase the odds of a healthy and relatively normal baby.

The Fetal Institute provides patients with the latest and most advanced resources in the field of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Fetal Therapy. This includes high-resolution ultrasound imaging, non-invasive serum screening and prenatal testing (NIPT), as well as comprehensive invasive prenatal diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. Fundamental to the philosophy of the Institute, all diagnostic and therapeutic options are performed using either a non-invasive or a minimally invasive approach, which results in better pregnancy outcomes.

Founded by Dr. Ruben Quintero and Dr. Eftichia Kontopoulos. The Fetal Institute serves as a resource to all Obstetricians and Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists.

The Fetal Institute is a national and international referral center for the assessment and management of complicated pregnancies.