Safety of chronic feta vascular access in the sheep model

Objective: Long-term access to the fetal circulation has the potential to o pen up new perspectives in the treatment of numerous fetal anomalies, The p urpose of this study was to investigate the safety of long-term catheteriza tion of fetal placental vessels. Methods: A midline laparotomy was performe d in 4 time-mated pregnant ewes at 125 days' gestation (term 145 days). Pla cental vessels were exposed by a smalt uterine incision. A specially design ed catheter was inserted into a placental vessel over a length of 3 cm, the distal end of the catheter was tunneled underneath the maternal skin and a ttached to a subcutaneous port implanted in the maternal flank. All pregnan cies were allowed to go to term, Results: Ewes and fetuses tolerated the pl acement of the catheter and port without complications. The catheter remain ed patent in all cases, Ail lambs were delivered vaginally at term and did not require resuscitation after birth. No fetal anomalies or growth restric tion were noted. Conclusion: The ovine placental vessel can be accessed lon g term without complication. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG. Basel.