A procedure for directly observing a fetus inside the uterus by means of a fetoscope, a type of endoscope. Fetoscopy is used to diagnose various congenital abnormalities before the baby is born. Because the technique carries some risks, it is performed only when other tests such as ultrasound scanning have detected an abnormality. By attaching additional instruments, it is also possible to use the fetoscope to take samples of fetal blood or tissue for analysis and to correct surgically some fetal disorders. (See also amniocentesis; chorionic villus sampling.)
Inspection of a FETUS by passing a ?breoptic instrument called a fetoscope through the abdominal wall of a pregnant woman into her UTERUS. The procedure is usually conducted in the 18th to 20th week of pregnancy to assess the fetus for abnormalities and to take blood samples to preclude diseases such as HAEMOPHILIA, DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY and sickle-cell ANAEMIA. The procedure should be used only if there is a serious possibility of abnormality, the presence of which will usually have been indicated by other screening tests such as ULTRASOUND and tests of blood obtained by (intrauterine) cordocentesis (withdrawal of blood by syringe inserted into the umbilical cord).
n. direct visualization of a fetus by passing a special fibreoptic endoscope (a fetoscope) through the abdomen of a pregnant woman into the amniotic cavity. Its original use as a technique for visualizing fetal malformations and sampling fetal blood for diagnosis of blood disorders has been abandoned with advances in high-resolution fetal imaging. It is now used to facilitate minimally invasive surgery on the fetus and placenta, either under local anaesthetic or by laparotomy on the mother; the fetoscope can be directed into place using *real-time imaging. Fetoscopic laser ablation of placental vessels is now commonly used in cases of twin-to-twin transfusion.
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