On January 27, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that Tu Du Hospital in coordination with Children's Hospital 1 successfully performed the 14th fetal heart intervention, saving a fetus with a very severe congenital heart defect, with a high risk of one-sided heart and stillbirth progression if not treated promptly.
Pregnant woman K.O (26 years old, Dong Thap province) was diagnosed with fetal heart abnormalities during prenatal check-ups and transferred to Tu Du Hospital for monitoring at the end of December 2025, when the fetus was 25 weeks old. The results of the fetal heart ultrasound recorded severe pulmonary artery valve stenosis. The pregnant woman had amniocentesis to rule out the pathology due to chromosome abnormalities.
During the monitoring process, doctors recorded rapid progression of pulmonary artery valve stenosis, the right ventricle increasingly shrinking compared to the left ventricle, accompanied by fibrogenesis of the endocardiogram of the right ventricle progressing clearly within 4 weeks.
On January 26, Tu Du Hospital organized an inter-hospital consultation with Children's Hospital 1 and agreed to diagnose a 29 weeks 1 day pregnancy, very severe progression of pulmonary artery valve stenosis, causing fibrogenesis of the entire endocardiogram of the right ventricle.
Doctors assessed that the risk of monocardial progression is 100%, the risk of stillbirth is about 40% if no intervention or intervention is delayed.After considering the risks for the mother and fetus, no contraindications were recorded, the team agreed to indicate emergency fetal heart intervention, ventilation of the pulmonary artery valve through the uterus.
The intervention took place on the morning of January 27.After the procedure, the flow through the pulmonary artery valve improved well.During the intervention, there was pericardial effusion causing cardiac compression, the team promptly removed 5 ml of pericardial blood.
After treatment, the fetal heart contracted again well, heart rate 184 beats/minute, total blood loss of about 6 ml. After intervention, the pregnant woman was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for continued monitoring.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health assessed the success of the 14th fetal heart intervention, continuing to affirm the professional capacity and effective coordination between the two hospitals in mastering complex fetal medicine techniques, contributing to saving lives and improving long-term prognosis for children with severe congenital heart disease right from the womb.
