Neurodevelopmental Problems in Twin-to-Twin Syndrome

THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of neurodevelopmental impairment is high in survivors of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome treated with laser surgery, researchers report in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Frans J. Walther, M.D., Ph.D., of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues examined the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of 82 twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome pregnancies treated with fetoscopic laser surgery.

The researchers found a 70 percent perinatal survival rate. Neurodevelopmental impairment due to cerebral palsy, mental developmental delay, psychomotor developmental delay, or deafness was present in 17 percent of cases at 2 years of age.

"The incidence of neurodevelopmental impairment in twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome survivors treated with laser is high and warrants long-term follow-up," Walther and colleagues conclude.

Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)