Midwest Fetal Care Center
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
800 East 28th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-863-4502
Fax: 612-863-5697
We're on the Abbott Northwestern Hospital campus in the Piper Building, which is on the corner of 10th Avenue South and East 26th Street. Valet parking is available directly in front of the building.
Printer-friendly maps and directions to Abbott Northwestern's Piper Building
The only center of its kind in the Upper Midwest, the Midwest Fetal Care Center provides optimal care for those whose babies have potentially life-threatening conditions.
Our program integrates the latest in technology with many hours of training in fetal surgery. Our specially trained care team assists you and your family at each step.
Referrals and appointments
To make a referral or
schedule an appointment,
call 612-863-4502.
Patients must be referred by their primary care provider.
Service request or referral request form
As a convenience to our patients and referring providers, all of our scheduling is done through one centralized scheduling department.
Midwest Fetal Care Center is known for its team approach to care. Our specially trained care team includes ultrasonographers, nurses, neonatologists and care coordinators who assist you and your family at each step.
Doctors
Our doctors are obstetrician / gynecologists (OB/GYNs) who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine and fetal surgery.
Maternal and fetal medicine (high-risk pregnancy care)
Maternal and fetal medicine involves the care of a mother and her baby during pregnancy, birth and delivery. During a high-risk pregnancy, our doctors can help a woman have the healthiest possible pregnancy and birth.
Learn more about this medical specialty.
William A. Block, MD
Brad Feltis, MD, PhD
David Lynch-Salamon, MD
Fetal therapy nurses
A registered nurse is assigned to each family to help guide them through their high-risk pregnancy.
Tess Jentink, RN
Shannon VanBrunt, RN
Conditions we treat
Patients must be referred to us by their primary care provider. For more information or to make a referral, call
612-863-4502.
A collaborative program of Minnesota Perinatal Physicians, Pediatric Surgical Associates, Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, the Midwest Fetal Care Center treats many conditions:
- chest anomalies
- neurologic disorders
- cardiac disease
- twin-related conditions
- fetal tumors
- gastrointestinal disorders
- abdominal wall defects
- genitourinary problems.
Fetal therapies
Our care for babies who have potentially life-threatening conditions includes these fetal therapies:
- fetoscopic laser ablation for twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS)
- ex-utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT)
- amniocentesis
- amnioreduction
- chorionic villus sampling (CVS)
- first trimester screening
- cordocentesis (PUBS)
- fetal transfusion
- transabdominal amnioinfusion
- fetal umbilical cord occlusion
- fetal fluid drainage
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) occurs in 10 to 15 percent of identical twin fetuses who share the same placenta (monochorionic twins).
An uneven flow of blood between the two babies through the common placenta causes one twin (the recipient) to get too much blood while the other twin (the donor) receives too little.
TTTS puts both fetuses at risk. In fact, left untreated, the mortality rate for both twins is nearly 90 percent.
Fetoscopic laser ablation
Fetoscopic laser ablation is the main treatment of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). This procedure increases the survival rate of one baby to 75 to 90 percent and both babies to 35 to 40 percent.
During fetoscopic laser ablation, a tiny scope is inserted through the uterus to find the blood vessels connecting the two babies. A laser is then used to coagulate the shared vessels, thus allowing each baby its own circulation.