Operation In The Mother's Womb Saves Twins

A pioneering surgery in the womb had saved twins from a life-threatening condition. The twins were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).  

The Daily Mail reported that Kyrie and Craig Peters were overjoyed when they learned that they will be having twin boys. However, their happiness was halted after a 20-week pregnancy scan showed that their unborn sons had TTTS.

TTTS is a condition when identical twins share placenta and blood supply, making the one twin gets too much blood and the other gets too little. The condition occurs in 50 out of 100,000 identical twin pregnancies.

The Peters were told that the only way of saving their unborn sons was a pioneering operation that had to be done immediately while the twins were still in the womb. The surgery would use a laser to divide the shared placenta, block off the malfunctioning blood vessels and restore an adequate oxygen and nutrient supply.

However, Kyrie and Craig were already warned ahead by the surgeons at St. George's Hospital that there is one in three chances that the surgery would save both twins. There is also a probability that they would lose one of them or if not, would lose both.

Thinking that they would still lose their sons if they did nothing, the couple agreed to the surgery. The procedure went well and the twins were delivered safely in April 2014.

According to Craig, their boys, Quinn and Jude, who are now 22 months old, are healthy and thriving. "Not a day goes by where we don't think of the staff at St George's - and the parents who were not as lucky as we have been," he added.

In an NBC News article, Dr. Norman Davies, maternal fetal medicine consultant at Mayo Clinic, said that a sudden increase in abdominal size is a symptom of TTTS. He added that mothers can do absolutely nothing to prevent it and it may also risk the mother's life.