Open Fetal Surgery and Fetoscopic Repair in Spina Bifida and Myelomeningocele in Romania

Spina bifida and myelomeningocele, although frequent, present difficulties when it comes to diagnosis and clinical management. The recent developments in ultrasound and MRI technologies and software, allow for an easier and more precise diagnosis. As such, in the first part of our chapter we will present general information, such as etiology, pathophysiology and methods of diagnosis. Fetal surgery, open or fetoscopic, represents a cure in most cases of spina bifida and in other cases reduces the chances of major developmental issues in babies born with this affliction. In the second part of our chapter, we will present the surgical protocols for both procedures, the indications, and the statistics that we have acquired in the cases we have diagnosed and operated on in the Regina Maria Maternity Hospital, Bucharest, the only center in Romania where these procedures are available