Primary vs patch-based skin closure for in-utero spina bifida repair.

OBJECTIVE: During in-utero spina bifida (SB) repair, closure of large defects is often challenging, requiring tissue graft for watertight skin closure. No prior studies have compared primary skin closure vs patch-based repair. Our objective was to compare neonatal and 1-year outcomes associated with these two types of skin closure for in-utero SB repair. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of 102 patients undergoing open prenatal SB repair from September 2011 to August 2021 at a single institution. All patients met the inclusion criteria of the Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), and the surgical procedure for in-utero SB repair was similar to that described in the MOMS trial. During the surgery, if primary skin approximation was not feasible due to the large size of the defect, the decision was at the discretion of the pediatric neurosurgeon to utilize a patch for closure. Neonatal outcomes at birth and 1-year outcomes were compared between the primary skin and patch-based closure groups. RESULTS: Of 102 patients included in the study, 70 (68.6%) underwent primary skin closure and 32 (31.4%) patch-based closure. The patch type included acellular bovine skin matrix (Durepair®; n = 31) and human acellular dermal matrix (Alloderm®; n = 1). Fetuses with myeloschisis were more likely to require patch-based repair than those with myelomeningocele. The median time of fetal repair was 4 min longer for patch-based compared with primary skin closure (37 vs 33 min; P = 0.001). Following patch-based repair, neonates had a longer length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by 24 days (adjusted risk ratio, 2.40 (95% CI, 1.41-4.29)) compared to those that underwent primary skin closure. There was no difference between the two groups in the other neonatal outcomes, including the need for ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Outcome at 1 year of age was available for 90 infants. Need for wound revision within their first year after birth was more common in infants who underwent patch-based vs those with primary skin closure (19.4% vs 5.1%; P = 0.05). There was no difference between the two groups in other 1-year outcomes, including the need for ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement by 1 year of age and surgery for tethered cord. CONCLUSIONS: Patch-based closure during SB repair is often needed in fetuses with myeloschisis and is associated with prolonged fetal surgery time, long NICU stay and need for wound revision within the first year after birth. Further studies are required to identify optimal patches for SB repair or alternative methods to improve outcome. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Can middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity predict polycythemia in monochorionic-diamniotic twins? Evidence from a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The antenatal diagnosis of twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS) in monochorionic-diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies is based on elevated peak systolic velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA-PSV) in the donor twin and decreased MCA-PSV in the recipient twin. However, the association between these parameters and polycythemia has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to determine whether MCA-PSV can predict polycythemia in MCDA pregnancies. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of MCDA pregnancies recruited at 14-18 weeks' gestation from a single tertiary care center between January 2011 and June 2014. Fetal MCA Doppler waveforms were recorded every 2 weeks from 18 weeks' gestation until delivery. Only those with an MCA-PSV measurement within 1 week of delivery were included in the analysis. Neonatal hematocrit level was determined in all twins from venous blood obtained within 4 h of delivery. Polycythemia was defined as a hematocrit of > 65%, and anemia as a hematocrit of < 45%. TAPS was diagnosed when an intertwin hemoglobin difference of > 8 g/dL and reticulocyte count ratio of > 1.7 were observed. RESULTS: Of 162 MCDA pregnancies followed during the study period, 69 had an MCA-PSV measurement within 1 week of delivery and were included in the study. Twenty-five neonates were diagnosed with polycythemia and nine twin pairs met the criteria for TAPS. In a pooled analysis, MCA-PSV was negatively correlated with neonatal hematocrit (P = 0.017, r = -0.215) and was significantly higher in anemic fetuses than in normal controls (1.15 multiples of the median (MoM) vs 1.02 MoM, respectively; P = 0.001). However, MCA-PSV was similar among polycythemic and normal fetuses (0.95 MoM vs 1.02 MoM, respectively; P = 0.47). Intertwin difference in MCA-PSV (delta MCA-PSV) was positively correlated with intertwin hematocrit difference (P = 0.002, r = 0.394). Moreover, twin pregnancies with an intertwin hematocrit difference of > 24% had a significantly greater delta MCA-PSV than did those with an intertwin hematocrit difference of ≤ 24% (delta MCA-PSV, 19 vs 5 cm/s; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: MCA-PSV is not significantly decreased in polycythemic MCDA twins. However, delta MCA-PSV is associated with a large intertwin difference in hematocrit, and its use may be better than conventional methods for the risk assessment of TAPS. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.