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International Institute for the Treatment of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome

When parents discover they are expecting more than one baby, they're often overwhelmed with emotion . . . and excitement. But multiple births can pose a number of medical challenges and risks. One of these is called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a serious condition affecting more than 9,000 infants each year.

Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph Campus, Milwaukee, is the site of an international institute which performs life-saving surgery to correct this problem before the babies are born. It is the only fetal treatment center in the world specifically dedicated to this disorder.

What is Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome?

Twin-to-Twin Transfusion System is a disease of the placenta that strikes about 10% of all identical twin pregnancies.  In the United States it affects over more the 9,000 babies -or 4,500 pregnancies-each year.

This serious condition occurs when twins (or other multiples) share a single placenta that contains blood vessels with connective blood vessels. These interconnections may cause one baby (the recipient) to receive too much blood, thereby overloading his or her cardiovascular system. This baby may die from heart failure, while the other baby (the donor) may die from the loss of blood.

The tragedy is that the babies are developing normally - the problem is in the placenta. Without treatment, the death rate for twins who develop TTTS at mid-pregnancy may be as high as 80 to 100%. Death may occur in utero, from prematurity or years later from the effects of TTTS. Those who survive suffer from many serious problems, including cerebral palsy.

Dr. Julian De Lia developed and pioneered a surgery to treat this problem. The laser-technology surgery dramatically alters the odds for babies with TTTS: in 90% of the cases where the operation is performed, at least one twin survives; in two-thirds, both twins live. Less than 5% of the survivors have any disabilities or birth defects, compared to up to 25% with other treatments.

In light of the poor prognosis without treatment, these statistics are remarkable.