Overview
Pregnancy is a time of excitement, stress, and anticipation. Adding a maternal health issue or fetal condition to an already emotional time can be overwhelming. At the Fetal Care Center at Cleveland Clinic, our team approaches your pregnancy complication with compassion and expertise. Our goal is to achieve the best possible outcome for both mother and baby while offering you the support and information you need.
Our center is one of few in the nation to provide services for both maternal and fetal conditions in pregnancy, labor, delivery and during the postpartum and neonatal periods. Women who have complex heart conditions are cared for in the number one center in the nation for heart care. Our babies are followed by a team of pediatric specialists who have ranked nationally.
Your maternal-fetal medicine specialist and general OBGYN work closely with the team of sub-specialists and coordinators to plan for your needs and those of your baby.
Our coordinated program is designed to address the complex needs of families facing rare fetal and or maternal disorders in pregnancy. Our collaborative team is comprised of highly skilled and compassionate healthcare professionals across multiple adult and pediatric specialties. We offer state-of-the-art techniques for fetal diagnosis and intervention Our family-centered approach involves you in decision-making from the time of referral into our program to the time of your discharge. Continued support and resources are offered after the delivery of your baby.
One of the Few Programs Nationally Performing In-Utero Fetal Surgery
Cleveland Clinic has successfully performed its first in utero fetal surgery to repair a spina bifida birth defect in a nearly 23-week-old fetus. A multispecialty team of clinicians performed the surgery in February, and the baby, a girl, was later delivered by caesarean section near full term June 3, making it northern Ohio’s first surgery of its kind. Mother and daughter are doing well.
Special Delivery Unit (SDU)
From initial consultation through delivery and the postpartum period, the Special Delivery Unit team offers support and coordinated services for both mom and baby. As part of the Fetal Care Center, the Special Delivery Unit provides moms, unborn babies and newborns advanced diagnostic and treatment options from fetal MRI and in utero intervention, to immediate newborn surgery. And, a full spectrum of sub-specialty care is available to moms with serious diseases that may complicate labor and delivery. The SDU has labor and delivery suites, triage, and a full operating room. There is also a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab across the hall for those newborns requiring immediate help for a life-threatening heart abnormality.
What We Treat
The Fetal Care Center offers services relating to maternal and fetal health concerns during pregnancy. Conditions we address are including but not limited to the following:
Maternal Health Conditions
- Heart disease in pregnancy
- Vascular disease in pregnancy
- Genetic disease in pregnancy
- Gastrointestinal Disease in Pregnancy
- Neurological Disorders
- Cancer in pregnancy
- Auto-Immune Disorders
Fetal Health Conditions
- Neurological Disorders
- Dandy Walker Syndrome
- Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum
- Perinatal Stroke
- Hydrocephalus
- Holoprosencephaly
- Cephalic Disorders: Colpocephaly, Iniencephaly and Schizencephaly
- Lissencephaly
- Spina Bifida or Myelomeningocele
- Encephalocele
- Anencephaly
- Lung and Airway malformations
- Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation (CPAM)
- Bronchopulmonary Sequestration
- Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
- Tracheoesophageal Fistula
- Airway obstructions
- Tumors and Cysts of the Head and Neck
- Cleft Lip/Palate
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Abdominal and Digestive Disorders
- Gastroschisis
- Duodenal atresia
- Omphalocele
- Kidney and Bladder disorders:
- Bladder Outlet Obstruction Posterior Urethral Valves
- Urinary Tract Obstruction
- Bladder Exstrophy
- Dysplastic or Multicystic Kidneys
- Skeletal/Orthopedic
- Congenital Clubfoot
- Skeletal Dysplasia
- Arthrogryposis
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta
- Congenital limb amputations and anomalies
- Genetic Disorders
- Trisomy 21
- Trisomy 18
- Trisomy 13
- Other Fetal Conditions:
- Amniotic Band Syndrome
- Cystic Hygroma
- Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome
- Fetal Hydrops
- Non-Immune Fetal Hydrops
- Neuroblastoma
- Sacrococcygeal Teratoma
- Cloacal Exstrophy
Programs
Benefits
- On-call support available for any concerns.
- Fetal Care coordinators partner with you from the time of referral through your postpartum period. We offer emotional support, education, and assistance in scheduling visits. We also serve as a liaison between you and the members of your care team.
- Our multi-disciplinary team of specialists meets on a regular basis to review each case and intentionally develop individualized plans for each family. Additional consultations and care are available from specialists in perinatal genetics, bioethics, child-life, lactation consultation, social work, and when needed, palliative care, hospice and perinatal bereavement counseling.
- Should your child have an abbreviated life expectancy, we will walk by your side throughout even the most difficult of journeys. Cleveland Clinic's Fetal Care Center and our Cleveland Clinic Children's Pediatric Palliative Medicine team focus together on family-centered perinatal hospice care as we work with you to preserve hope while preparing you for birth and your time together as a family.
Staff
Fetal Care Center Staff
- Darrell Cass, MD, Fetal Surgery Director
- Fadi Khoury, MD, Obstetrical Director
- Amanda Kalan, MD, Medical Director, Special Delivery Unit
- Natalie Yeaney, MD, Neonatology Director
- Elaine Bishop, CNM, Fetal Care Coordinator
- Carrie Budzar, RN, Fetal Care Coordinator
- Sue Grendzynksi, RN, Fetal Care Coordinator
Visit each departments' webpage to learn more about the services they provide.
Bioethics
Developmental Pediatrics/NICU Follow-up
- For a full listing of Our Staff visit Neonatology
Fetal MRI
- For a full listing of Our Staff visit Radiology
Fetal/Pediatric Neurology
Genetic and Metabolic Disorders
- For full listing of Our Staff visit Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare
Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Jeff Chapa, MD, Head
- Amanda Kalan, MD, Medical Director, SDU
- Fadi Khoury, MD, Obstetrical Director, Fetal Care Center
- Kathleen Berkowitz, MD
- Amy Merlino, MD
- Jules Moodley, MD
- Uma Perni, MD
- Mohammad Rajabi, MD, PhD
- Yogesh Shah, MD
- Katherine Singh, MD
Neonatology
- For a full listing of Our Staff visit Pediatric Neonatology (NICU)
Obstetric Anesthesia/Pain Management
- McCallum Hoyt, MD, MBA, Medical Director, Obstetric Anesthesia
- Sabri Barsoum, MD
- Karen Steckner, MD
Pediatric Cardiology
Fetal and Pediatric Echocardiologists
Fetal and Pediatric Electrophysiology
- Elizabeth Saarel, MD (Chair Pediatric Cardiology)
- Peter Aziz, MD
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Hani Najm, MD (Chair, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery)
- Robert Stewart, MD
- Gosta Pettersson, MD
Pediatric Critical Care
- Samir Latifi, MD
- Orkun Baloglu, MD
- Kshama Daphtary, MD
- Chidiebere Ezetendu, MD
- Keshava Gowda, MD
- William Hanna, MD
- Mohammed Hamzah, MD
Pediatric Plastic Surgery
- Bahar Bassiri Gharb, MD, PhD
- Antonio Rampazzo, MD, PhD
- Carli Siegel, CNP
Pediatric Palliative Care
- Christine Traul, MD, Director
- Sally Fenik, CNP
- Jennifer Tassinari, CNP
- Diane South, RN
Pediatric Nephrology
Pediatric Neurosurgery
Pediatric Otolaryngology
Pediatric Surgery
- Darrell Cass, MD
- David Magnuson, MD, Chair
- John DiFiore, MD
- Tony DeRoss, MD
- Lucy Andrews-Mann, CNP
- Laura Saksa, CNP
Pediatric Urology
Appointments
For Support and Referrals
216.444.9706
Maternal Fetal Medicine
Appointments (All Locations)
216.444.6601
Neonatology and Pediatric Surgery, Imaging and Specialty Consultations
Cleveland Clinic Children's
866.864.0430
Resources
Podcasts
Listen to episodes of Cleveland Clinic's podcast Butt & Gutts about fetal surgery:
- Innovations in Fetal Surgery featuring Darrell Cass, MD
Health Essentials
Find medical, health and wellness news, information and insights from Cleveland Clinic:
Consult QD
Find helpful posts from Cleveland Clinic's site for physicians and healthcare professionals. Discover the latest fetal surgery research insights, innovations, treatment trends and more:
