Mayo Clinic's approach
In a caring and compassionate environment, highly skilled fetal surgery experts at Mayo Clinic Children's Center offer the most advanced procedures and technology for treating health problems before birth to make outcomes better. Coming to an informed decision about whether fetal surgery is the best approach involves:
- Thorough and personalized medical assessment of you and your unborn baby.
- On-site, top-quality laboratory services for fast and accurate results.
- Discussion of the options, such as choosing between open fetal surgery or less-invasive procedures.
- Evaluation of the potential benefits and risks of fetal surgery.
- Education for you and key supporters of your choosing, with ample opportunity to answer questions.
- Discussion of short-term and long-term follow-up care and how to transition to the Mayo Clinic areas that provide this care.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
With Mayo Clinic's approach, experts from multiple specialties come together to care for you and your child. This team approach results in the right treatment for you and your child.
Mayo Clinic's fetal surgery team includes experts in maternal and fetal medicine, pediatric surgery, neonatology, radiology and anesthesiology, as well as pediatric otolaryngology, pediatric nephrology, pediatric urology and pediatric neurosurgery, as needed. The team also can work with your local healthcare professional.
Advanced technology and treatment
Mayo Clinic experts use the latest diagnostic technology and treatment procedures to detect and treat health problems before birth. These may include:
- Doing a fetal ultrasound (sonogram), such as a 3D or 4D ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound, or fetal echocardiography.
- Scanning and printing a 3D model of the fetus before surgery to learn about the condition and plan for the fetal surgery.
- Doing less-invasive types of fetal surgery for select conditions to make outcomes better for mothers and babies.
- Doing open fetal surgery in more-complicated cases using advanced techniques to help fetal development, reduce disability and make outcomes better.
NICU and NICU Follow-Up Clinic
Mayo Clinic's Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) specializes in family-centered care of premature and critically ill newborn infants. Families are welcome at the baby's bedside. They will find many support spaces throughout the unit, such as family waiting areas and rooms, parent sleep rooms, and breastfeeding rooms.
Mayo's NICU Follow-up Clinic makes sure that the quality of care continues after babies are discharged from the NICU.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Minnesota is one of only a few medical centers in the U.S. with the expertise to do fetal surgery to improve outcomes of babies with health problems before birth. These outstanding fetal surgeons and their experienced teams are recognized as national leaders in treatment and research.
Continuity of care
As part of the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, a team of Mayo experts from multiple specialties trained to treat health problems that require continued follow-up will care for your child after birth. They also will help manage the child's condition. For example, Mayo Clinic pediatric experts give the highest-quality care to children with spina bifida and manage any complications.
Mayo Clinic provides lifelong care for children with health problems after birth, so your child will be able to transition to adult care when the time arrives — and be assured that the highest-quality care will continue.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.