Search

A multidisciplinary team of physicians at the University of California at San Francisco wrote this book presenting the experiences of their Fetal Treatment Program. They encourage us to consider the prenatal period not only as a time for diagnosis of fetal ailments but also, at least potentially, as a time for intervention to achieve fetal well-being. Accordingly, the book not only deals with diagnostic modalities such as ultrasound, amniocentesis, and fetoscopy but also suggests how congenital abnormalities may be amenable, now or in the future, to in utero medical or surgical therapy. Although there are very interesting chapters on metabolic diseases and nonimmune hydrops, the majority of the text is devoted to detailed discussions of three conditions that the authors believe may lend themselves to prenatal surgical correction. These conditions—congenital diaphragmatic hernia, congenital hydronephrosis, and obstructive hydrocephalus—often produce damage that is irreversible by the neonatal period. For each, the authors