fetoscopy

Hobbins, who directed both obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrical ultrasound was fast advancing, for instance, and fetoscopy was drawing patients and other physician-scientists from around the world.

Additionally, direct skin biopsies can be obtained via fetoscopy or ultrasound guidance to confirm the diagnosis [9, 10].

TAR syndrome can be diagnosed antenatally after 16 weeks of gestation by fetoscopy, X-rays and ultrasonography (8).

In addition, it is emphasized that early prenatal diagnoses could be established through the measurements of fetal limb and that these measurements could be used in fetoscopy as far as the cases with dwarfism are concerned (O'Brien et al., 1980; Matsushita et al., 1995; Malas et al., 2000).

Considering these issues, some authors have recommended a relatively novel procedure, the fetoscopy or in uterosurgery [10], with the intent of preventing limb amputation and repairing other small or complex ABS malformations.

Another modality is fetal skin biopsy by fetoscopy done between 20th to 22nd week which on light microscopy shows premature keratinization.

Prenatal diagnosis based on identification of the characteristic ultrastructural changes on fetal skin biopsy has traditionally been performed at around 20 weeks' gestation with ultrasound-guided fetoscopy.11 Tonofilament clumping is the earliest morphological abnormality occurring during the second trimester and precedes the formation of keratohyalin granules and stratum corneum.12 First trimester prenatal diagnosis is based on DNA screening by direct gene sequencing to identify specific K1 and K10 gene mutations in chorionic villus samples.

On the other hand, it is possible to carry out a preventive or therapeutic fetal intervention in utero in select cases, such as the release of amniotic bands or laser fetoscopy in fetal transfusion syndrome (1,3).

The symposium featured lectures and talks that focused on the principles of laparoscopic surgery, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic bariatric surgery, video-assisted thoracoscopy, Iatrogenic biliary Injury, laparoscopic surgery in paediatric practice and fetoscopy.

Other less common but equally important indications may be diagnostic (fetoscopy, fetal tissue sampling, estimation of fetal haemoglobin) or therapeutic (aspiration of various fetal cavities, fetal blood transfusion and embryo reductions).