Fetal Surgery

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a very rare condition in the placenta of up to 15 percent of identical twins, causing a disproportionate flow of blood between the babies. One baby receives too much blood, which overworks its cardiovascular system, and the other twin does not get enough blood and may fail to grow in utero.

Eighty to 100 percent of women less than 24 weeks pregnant will lose one or both of their babies if TTTS is left untreated.  

Women & Infants, partnering with Hasbro Children’s Hospital, is the first and only site in New England to offer fetal surgery to fix TTTS. Established in 2000, the Fetal Treatment Program has helped more than 70 families from across the country. The in-utero operation performed through the Fetal Treatment Program greatly improves the survival rate – there is a 75 percent chance at least one twin will survive - and the risk of long-term birth defects for both twins is greatly reduced.

The program includes the skills of maternal-fetal medicine specialist Stephen Carr, MD of Women & Infants, and pediatric surgeons Francois Luks, MD, Christopher Muratore, MD, and Thomas Tracy, MD of Hasbro.