N Engl J Med 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.
From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals KU Leuven (J.A.D., P.L.J.D.) and Academic Department of Development and Regeneration, Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (J.A.D., B.V.C., P.L.J.D.); Hospital Antoine-Béclère, Université Paris-Saclay, Clamart (A.B.), and Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris (Y.V.) - both in France; Hospital Clinic and Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona (E.G.); Institute for Women's Health, University College London Hospital (J.A.D.) and King's College Hospital(K.H.N.) - both in London; the University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany (C.B.); Hospital Maggiore Policlinico, Milan (N.P.), and Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome (F.M.) - both in Italy; Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital (M.B.) and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital (A.J.) - all in Houston; Mater Mothers' Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia (G.J.G.); the Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland (M.W.); and Erasmus MC-University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (P.L.J.D.).
Background: Fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) has been associated with increased postnatal survival among infants with severe pulmonary hypoplasia due to isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia on the left side, but data are lacking to inform its effects in infants with moderate disease.
Methods: In this open-label trial conducted at many centers with experience in FETO and other types of prenatal surgery, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, women carrying singleton fetuses with a moderate isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia on the left side to FETO at 30 to 32 weeks of gestation or expectant care. Both treatments were followed by standardized postnatal care. Read More