Fetal surgery in Barranquilla: how to refer a case

Which conditions are assessed

The ones the team treats before birth. Each case is reviewed alongside the treating doctor.

• MyelomeningoceleThe most severe form of spina bifida.
• GastroschisisThe bowel comes out through an opening beside the navel.
• Hepato-omphaloceleThe liver and part of the bowel come out through the navel.
• Twin-to-twin transfusionIn twins who share a placenta.
• TRAP sequenceIn twins, one without a functioning heart.
• Diaphragmatic herniaThe organs move up into the chest through the diaphragm.
• Urinary tract obstructionUrine cannot drain, builds up and damages the kidneys.
• Other fetal conditionsAssessed case by case.

⏳ Still to be confirmed with the team: up to which week of gestation each condition should be referred, and which criteria make a patient a candidate. In the meantime, the best thing is to write and ask.

How to refer

1. You write to us. With the gestational age and what the ultrasound shows, without any data that identifies the patient.
2. The team reviews the case and tells you whether the patient may be a candidate.
3. The assessment is arranged with you, so the patient can come to Barranquilla.

What the team has done

• The world's first successful intrauterine surgery to correct gastroschisis, with a technique developed in Barranquilla: relaxing the baby's abdomen before operating.
• More than 50 prenatal spina bifida repairs by fetoscopy, according to the team's clinical registry, and a published series of 39 cases from two Latin American centres (AJOG Global Reports, 2025).
• More than 350 procedures of high-complexity fetal surgery and therapy: fetoscopic laser, fetal shunts, urinary tract obstruction and balloon tracheal occlusion.
• Families from Colombia, North America, Central America, South America and Europe, con procedimientos hechos en colaboración internacional.

With the Instituto de Cirugía y Terapia Fetal del Caribe and Clínica General del Norte.

Pass it on to a colleague

If you know someone following a pregnancy with a difficult diagnosis, this page will help them.