ArticleFetal diagnosis and therapy2024
Fetal Spina Bifida Repair in Obese Mothers: Is Maternal and Fetal Safety Compromised?
Article in Fetal diagnosis and therapy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Benefits and complications of fetal and postnatal surgery for open spina bifida: systematic review and proportional meta-analysis.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025Pooled it
- Maternal Subcutaneous Seroma following Open Maternal Fetal Surgery for Closure of Fetal Open Neural Tube Defects.Fetal diagnosis and therapy · 2026Article
- Evolving Practices in Prenatal Open Spinal Dysraphism: A Global Survey of Selection Criteria, Surgical Techniques, and Diagnostic Trends.Prenatal diagnosis · 2026Article
- Maternal laparotomy to fetoscopic myelomeningocele repair in patients with Class 2 obesity is safe and feasible.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Position statement of Italian Society of Obesity (SIO): Gestational Obesity.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2024Review
- Prenatal Surgery for Open Fetal Spina Bifida in Patients with Obesity: A Review of Current Evidence and Future Directions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS) eligibility criteria preclude in utero surgery for fetal spina bifida (fSB) when the maternal body mass index (BMI) is ≥35 kg/m2. Some centers still respect this criterion, while others, like ours, do not. This study aimed to assess whether maternal and fetal safety is compromised with higher maternal BMIs.
methodsData of 192 patients with open fSB repair at our center were retrospectively analyzed. According to their BMI, patients were divided into three groups: group 1 (BMI <30 kg/m2), group 2 (BMI 30-35 kg/m2), and group 3 (BMI >35 kg/m2). Subgroup analysis was performed to assess differences in maternal and fetal outcomes. Additionally, complications were divided into grades 1 to 5 according to their severity and outcome consequences and compared among groups.
resultsOut of 192 patients, 146 (76.0%) had a BMI <30 kg/m2, 28 (14.6%) had a BMI 30-35 kg/m2, and 18 (9.4%) had a BMI >35 kg/m2. Significant differences occurring more often in either group 2 or 3 compared to group 1 were maternal wound seroma (50% or 56% vs. 32%, p = 0.04), amniotic fluid leakage (14% or 6% vs. 2%, p = 0.01) as well as vaginal bleeding (11% or 35% vs. 9%, p = 0.01). On the contrary, duration of tocolysis with atosiban was shorter in patients with BMI >30 kg/m2 (4 or 5 vs. 6 days, p = 0.01). When comparing severity of maternal or fetal complications, grade 1 intervention-related complications occurred significantly more often in group 3 compared to group 1 or 2 (78% vs. 45% or 57%, p = 0.02). Gestational age at delivery was around 36 weeks in all groups without significant differences.
conclusionThis investigation did not identify clinically relevant maternal and/or fetal outcome problems related to BMIs >35 kg/m2. Additional studies are however needed to confirm our results.
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