JUH Team Performs Fetal Airway Procedure During Cesarean Delivery

Amman, Sept. 3 (Petra) -- A multidisciplinary team at Jordan University Hospital (JUH) successfully secured the airway of a fetus with complete congenital obstruction of the larynx and trachea during cesarean delivery while placental circulation was maintained, the hospital said Thursday.

The hospital described the procedure as the first of its kind in Jordan and the region.

The patient was referred to JUH from outside Jordan during the sixth month of pregnancy after a congenital fetal abnormality was detected without a definitive diagnosis. An ultrasound examination by maternal-fetal medicine and fetal intervention consultant Oqba Quraan identified complete congenital airway obstruction at the level of the larynx and trachea, which was later confirmed by fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

A multidisciplinary team developed a delivery and surgical plan that would allow the newborn's airway to be established before separation from the placenta.

At 36 weeks of pregnancy, the baby was partially delivered by cesarean section while remaining connected to the placenta and receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord. This allowed the medical team to secure the airway before completing the delivery.

ENT surgery consultant Lubna Khraysheh performed a tracheostomy and inserted a tracheal tube, allowing the baby to breathe. The newborn was subsequently placed on mechanical ventilation as a precaution.

The airway intervention took about 20 minutes. After stabilization, the newborn was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit and is currently reported to be in stable condition with good vital signs.

The medical team also included senior neonatology consultant Iman Badran, anesthesia, intensive care and pediatric anesthesia consultant Omar Ababneh, and pediatric diagnostic radiology consultant Tahani Khdeir.

The hospital said the child will undergo a comprehensive assessment of the larynx and airway once the condition stabilizes to determine further treatment, which may include laryngeal repair and airway reconstruction.

//Petra// AO

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