Open Intrauterine Transfusion

Operations on the feetus in utero have been done on only a few occasions. It was the purpose of this presentation to show a photographic record ofsuch an operation at YaleNew Haven Hospital. Intrauterine transfusion of the fetus severely affected by erythroblastosis fcetalis is now common but may still be difficult before the 24th week ofpregnancy. In such cases Adamsons etal. (1965) developed a technique for placing a catheter into the fretal peritoneal cavity at hysterotomy. The operation has been done on 19 occasions (Adamsons 1967, personal communication) and one child survives. During 1965-6 three patients had the operation at Yale New Haven Hospital. One pregnancy was terminated during the procedure