Foetal medicine in the region is set to get a thrust with an exclusive centre housing a special tertiary management unit for twin pregnancies opened in the city on Sunday.
The centre would seek to improve well-being of foetus through various diagnostic and interventional procedures for complicated pregnancies.
N.R.Sivapathi, Minister for Animal Husbandry, inaugurated the centre headed by Malathi G.Prasad and R.Bavaharan, consultants in foetal medicine. The invasive and non-invasive procedures introduced would help detecting birth defects to prevent death or disability of infants. Intervention would be suggested after assessing severity of anomalies.
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Routine obstetric scans including screening for Down's syndrome would be available at the centre. Foetal reduction for higher order pregnancies and foetal intrauterine transfusions can also be managed.
The special unit for twin pregnancies would specialise in managing complications in multiple pregnancies, particularly twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), when blood volume between two foetuses is abnormally unequal as they share a common placenta.
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Cord occlusion for monochorionic twins that share the same placenta and selective termination of abnormal twin to salvage normal twin have also been introduced.
T.Mohansundaram, Joint Director, Health Services, presided. Various doctors including Premavathy Ilango, Ramani Devi, Ramalingam and M.S.Ashraf offered felicitations.
A newsletter on foetal medicine and a website www.smptrichy.com cataloguing various birth defects was launched. The Fetal medicine centre is established at first cross, north east extension, Thillai Nagar.