Published online Jul 28, 2015. doi: 10.5412/wjsp.v5.i2.198
Peer-review started: September 28, 2014
First decision: December 17, 2014
Revised: February 22, 2015
Accepted: March 16, 2015
Article in press: March 18, 2015
Published online: July 28, 2015
Processing time: 283 Days and 13.1 Hours
Until recently, fetal surgery was only used for fetuses with very poor prognosis who were likely to die without intervention. With advances in imaging, endoscopic techniques, anesthesia and novel interventions, fetal surgery is becoming a realistic option for conditions with less severe prognoses, where the aim is now to improve quality of life rather than simply allow survival. Until forty years ago, the uterus shielded the fetus from observation and therapy. Rapid changes in the diagnosis and treatment of human fetal anatomical abnormalities are due to improved fetal imaging studies, fetal sampling techniques (e.g., amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling), and a better understanding of fetal pathophysiology derived from laboratory animals. Fetal therapy is the logical culmination of progress in fetal diagnosis. In other words, the fetus is now a patient. Now-a-days, in utero (IU) and exo utero (EU) surgical methods are popular for experimental analyses of the histogenesis of organ development. Using these surgical methods, developmental anomalies can be created and then repaired. By applying microinjection and/or fetal surgery with these methods, models of developmental anomalies such as neural tube defects, temporomandibular joint defects, hip joint defects, digit amputation, limb and digit development and regeneration, and tooth germ transplantation in the jaw could be created and later observed. After observing different types of anomalies, novel IU and EU surgical techniques would be the best approach for repairing or treating those anomalies or diseases. This review will focus on the rationale for the IU and EU creation of animal models of different organ defects or anomalies and their repair, based on analyses of organ histogenesis and pathologic observations. It will also focus in detail on the surgical techniques of both IU and EU methods.
Core tip: Fetal surgery in animal models has become a promising technique for analyses of organ histogenesis and organogenesis. Using unique in utero (IU) and exo utero (EU) methods, developmental anomalies could be created and repaired during the prenatal period. Here, we review the IU and EU surgical techniques, focusing on methods and outcomes in various experimental animals.