In Utero Fetal Surgery
Resolution 73 (1-81)
- Council on Scientific Affairs
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
Resolution 73 (I-81), which was referred to the Board of Trustees, calls for a study of in utero surgical procedures intended to improve the health of the fetus, recommendations for the appropriate applications, and a discussion of the diverse issues of informed consent.
The Council on Scientific Affairs studied the peer-reviewed medical literature to determine what work has been done recently on fetal surgery in utero.
Harrison et al1 reviewed the several options that might be available to the mother who was found by modern ultrasonography to be carrying a congenitally defective fetus. Serious malformations incompatible with normal postnatal life, if diagnosed early enough, could facilitate the decision to terminate the pregnancy. Many correctable malformations that can be diagnosed in utero are best managed by appropriate medical or surgical therapy after delivery at term. In some malformations, such as the amniotic band complex or ruptured omphalocele, the fetal abnormality
Footnotes
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Report F of the Council on Scientific Affairs, adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, 1982 Interim Meeting. Past House Action: 1-81:240.
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This report is not intended to serve as a standard of medical care; standards of medical care that are determined locally and are constantly subject to change are established on the basis of all several factors of the individual case.
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Reprint requests to Division of Scientific Analysis and Technology, Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610 (Richard J. Jones, MD).
