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Fetal Counseling for Congenital Malformations

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Abstract

Fetal counseling is best achieved by a multidisciplinary team that can favorably influence the perinatal management of prenatally diagnosed anomalies and provide this information to prospective parents. Prenatal diagnosis has remarkably improved our understanding of surgically correctable congenital malformations. It has allowed us to influence the delivery of the baby, offer prenatal surgical management, and discuss the options of termination of pregnancy for seriously handicapping or lethal conditions. Antenatal diagnosis has also defined an in utero mortality for some lesions such as diaphragmatic hernia and sacrococcygeal teratoma so that true outcomes can be measured. The limitation of in utero diagnosis cannot be ignored. The aim of prenatal counseling is to provide information to prospective parents on fetal outcomes, possible interventions, appropriate setting, time and route of delivery, and expected postnatal outcomes, immediate and long term.

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Acknowledgments

Reprinted/adapted by permission from Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: Springer Nature, Springer eBook by Kokila Lakhoo Copyright © 2009, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

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  1. Paediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital Oxford, Oxford University Hospitals, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Kokila Lakhoo

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  1. Kokila Lakhoo
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Correspondence to Kokila Lakhoo .

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  1. Our Lady’s Children's Hospital, National Children’s Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland

    Prem Puri

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Lakhoo, K. (2019). Fetal Counseling for Congenital Malformations. In: Puri, P. (eds) Pediatric Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_4-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_4-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38482-0

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Fetal Counseling for Congenital Malformations
    Published:
    25 June 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_4-3

  2. Original

    Fetal Counseling for Congenital Malformations
    Published:
    03 March 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_4-2

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