Maternal-Fetal Medicine/High Risk Pregnancy

The KU Center for Advanced Fetal Care

The KU Center for Advanced Fetal Care is a world-class clinical and research facility dedicated to a single goal — improving the lives of the unborn and providing hope to their families.

Families come to the KU Center for Advanced Fetal Care

• For reassurance that the baby is well —
  
• For critical intrauterine treatment that can make the baby well again —
  
• For confidence that the limits of fetal therapy will be challenged —
  
• For answers to the questions of a
  worried parent —
  
• For the time, for the understanding —

This is the third such center founded by the Director, Dr. Carl Weiner, and designed to be the premier resource in the region for state-of-the-art perinatology — the care and support of the unborn child. Consider the Center as your first choice for the evaluation and treatment of fetal abnormalities. By testing for and identifying fetal abnormalities as early as possible,
you give your baby the best opportunity for treatment before birth as well as proper care after birth.

While our advanced technology and research make the Center for Advanced Fetal Care one of the most notable clinical perinatal referral centers in the region, our most important resource is our people. Access to our team of experts is available 24 hours a day, every day.  To schedule an appointment, please call (913) 588-6259.

Fetal Treatment Team

Our team of renowned physicians and researchers has performed more than 3,000 successful intravascular fetal procedures, among them hundreds of life-saving fetal blood or platelet transfusions, drainage procedures, intrauterine shunt catheters, and other fetal surgeries.

The Center’s experts have a long history of research and innovation in fetal therapy. Dr. Weiner performed the first percutaneous fetal blood sampling in North America in 1984 and was among the first to develop intravascular fetal transfusion techniques.

It is not surprising that the KU Center is the first in the region to offer fetoscopy — a procedure in
which a tiny fiberoptic camera allows direct visualization of the fetus. Intrauterine surgical procedures using laser on the umbilical cord and placenta are important steps forward in treatment of severe complications of multiple pregnancies such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

Co-management of medical diseases (e.g., diabetes mellitus) during pregnancy is our standard wherever possible.

Fetal Diagnostic Tests Provided at the Center

Three-dimensional ultrasound, multivessel fetal Doppler to monitor the fetal oxygen status, and first-trimester fetal echocardiography are hallmarks of our innovative approach to fetal medicine in the 21st century.

Dr. Weiner became certified in first-trimester nuchal translucency screening in 1996. He has initiated reliable, non-invasive ultrasound screening for Down’s syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities. He and his colleagues continue to work to move laboratory progress into clinical practice.

Our full range of services to document fetal wellness includes:

• First trimester wellness examinations (nuchal translucency, ductus venosus, tricuspid regurgitation, biochemical markers)
• CVS at 11-14 weeks
• Amniocentesis 15 weeks to term
• Preterm birth risk screening
• Endovaginal ultrasound
• Targeted 2-D and 3-D ultrasound imaging
• Fetal MRI
• Multiformat fetal echocardiogram
• Maternal and fetal blood flow studies
• Invasive testing
• Fetal blood sampling — cordocentesis
• Fetal biopsy
• Diagnostic amnioinfusion
• PCR (polymerase chain reaction) for the diagnosis of fetal infection, blood type, rH, etc.
• Molecular biologic testing for single gene disorders
• Rapid karyotype

Treatment Options

For some patients and conditions, the fetus requires immediate treatment. Services offered on an urgent basis include:

• Fetal blood transfusion
• Treatment of fetal thrombocytopenia
• Percutaneous shunt placement (e.g., fetal bladder outlet obstruction)
• Minimally invasive fetal surgery
• Treatment of fetal heart failure
• Treatment of fetal hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism
• Treatment of fetal infection
• Treatment of fetal arrythmias
• Drug therapy
• Gene therapy
• Fetoscopic electrocautery and laser surgery

High Risk Obstetric Services

While we are supported by the finest high-risk obstetric service and a dedicated OB anesthesiology group, our goal is that our fetal patients spend as many weeks as possible in the best incubator in the world — their mother’s womb — so that they can meet the family in the most normal, healthy way.