Fetal cardiac interventions in Ho Chi Minh City

Medical teams from Tu Du Hospital and Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City have successfully performed fetal cardiac interventions on 26-week-old fetuses to treat severe congenital heart disease.

In the first recorded instance, specialists used ultrasound guidance to perform a transuterine procedure, inserting a needle through the abdominal wall and uterus to dilate a blocked pulmonary valve. This procedure, conducted after consultation with international experts, aimed to prevent right ventricular hypoplasia and postnatal death.

A subsequent successful intervention involved a similar approach to address pulmonary valve atresia and tricuspid regurgitation. The goal of these procedures is to restore blood flow to the pulmonary artery during pregnancy, increasing the likelihood that the child can achieve two-ventricle circulation after birth.

As of late 2026, the collaboration has reached 17 successful cases. The 16th successful case involved a 26-week-old fetus diagnosed with pulmonary valve atresia, a closed interventricular septum, severe tricuspid regurgitation, and moderate right ventricular hypoplasia. Doctors performed an in utero pulmonary valve dilation to prevent further deterioration of the right ventricle.

The 17th successful procedure, performed at approximately 28 weeks of gestation, addressed a fetus with no pulmonary valve and similar complications. This case was notable for the early detection of abnormalities at 16 weeks and 6 days. Following consultations with Professor Gerald Tulzer, former director of the Linz Children’s Heart Center in Austria, the team successfully dilated the pulmonary valve despite technical challenges involving excessively thick and rigid valve leaflets that initially obstructed specialized guidewires.