Fetal surgical prevention of genetic limb anomalies in mice.

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The aim of this project is the promotion of fetal therapy in congenital anomalies by means of fetal surgery. The development of ultrasonography has enabled the perinatal team to diagnose antenatally a wide variety of congenital anomalies. Recently, investigators have reported the in utero placement of catheters in fetuses with bladder obstruction and hydrocephalus in an attempt to prevent further organ damage resulting from tissue compression. In the present study, fetal laser surgery to prevent congenital anomalies was used in mouse embryos exo utero.The homozygous Polydactyly Nagoya (Pdn/Pdn) mice exhibit 1-3 extra digits both in the fore- and hindlimbs preaxialy. The extra digital rays in the left hindlimbs of Pdn/Pdn fetuses were irradiated with 2 watts argon laser beam for 0.3 sec. on day 13 of gestation exo utero.The left hindlimbs of the Pdn/Pdn fetuses received fetal laser surgery lost their preaxial extra digits on day 18 of gestation, resulting in 5 digits, though their first digit was triphalangia.We don't consider now that fetal surgery of polydactyly in the human fetus is much superior to the cutting of the extra digits after birth. However, the combination of laser instrumentation with the fetoscope and/or with the real-time ultrasound scanner will promote the study of preventing congenital anomalies such as not only the polydactyly and syndactyly, but also teratoma and parasitic twin in the human.