RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Growth after intrauterine laser coagulation for twin–twin transfusion syndrome
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
JO Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP F115
OP F117
DO 10.1136/adc.2009.166082
VO 95
IS 2
A1 C Maschke
A1 A R Franz
A1 B Ellenrieder
A1 K Hecher
A1 A Diemert
A1 P Bartmann
YR 2010
UL http://fn.bmj.com/content/95/2/F115.abstract
AB Objective The aim of this study was to investigate prenatal and postnatal growth of twins with twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) after intrauterine laser coagulation. Study design The weight and length of 54 sets of twins with severe TTTS surviving intrauterine laser coagulation at the intervention (median 20+4 weeks), at birth (median 34+3 weeks) and on the occasion of neurodevelopmental follow-up (median age 3 years 10 months) were investigated. All data were converted to Z scores, and groups were compared by two-tailed paired t test. Results At all time points, donors are significantly lighter than recipients (p<0.001). After laser treatment the weight Z score of donors until birth remains unchanged (p=0.76), whereas recipients lose weight significantly (p<0.01). Postnatally, both donors and recipients show catch-up growth. Conclusion Intrauterine laser coagulation stops growth acceleration in recipients that leads to a decrease in intertwin discordance. After birth, significant catch-up growth was observed for the donor group (p<0.001).