Anesthesia for Fetal Neurosurgery

Intrauterine fetal intervention is a relatively new and rapidly expanding field of surgery. The scope of fetal neurosurgery has grown considerably with the diagnostic, surgical and anesthetic advancements in the last decade. This involves a multidisciplinary team approach with careful considerations to both the maternal and fetal well-being in a highly specialized setting. Intrauterine meningomyelocele repair is the most commonly performed fetal neurosurgical intervention. In this chapter, we discuss the different surgical approaches, relevant maternal and fetal physiological considerations and the anesthetic management of the fetal meningomyelocele repair.