Pioneering treatment saves identical twins from rare pregnancy condition

Image source, Brioney Garrett Image caption, Identical twins Nancy and Margo were born healthy after the procedure By Philippa Roxby Health reporter Published 7 minutes ago A pioneering procedure using high-powered sound waves has the potential to treat identical twins affected by a serious but rare condition during early pregnancy, a study has found. Blood flow between babies with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is uneven, leaving one baby dangerously small and the other too large, putting their survival at risk. Brioney Garrett's identical girls' lives were in danger during her pregnancy before doctors at a London hospital used the treatment to seal blood vessels causing the problem, without needing an operation. Following the world-first treatment, Nancy and Margo were born healthy and, now aged four, will soon start school. Half of the 10 women who took part in the trial required further treatment, and 12 of 20 twin babies survived following the treatment, as reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology , external . The researchers, from Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, said it was "extremely exciting" to have a non-invasive method to treat the condition, without the need to put a needle or telescope into the mother's tummy. But before the procedure can be offered more widely, larger studies on more pregnant women are needed to show it can be an effective treatment. Image source, Brioney Garrett Image caption, Nancy and Margo were born at nearly 34 weeks, both weighing more than 3 lbs Brioney said her daughters were "my miracle twins". "We were in a very dire situation and I don't forget that," she said. "It stays with me always how things could have been. Every day I still count my blessings." TTTS affects between 10-15% of identical twins that share a placenta - about 300-400 pregnancies each year in the UK. The unbalanced blood flow between babies leads to a build-up of excess fluid around the larger recipient baby and a dangerous lack of fluid around the smaller donor baby, potentially harming both. Usually, treatment involves inserting a needle into the womb to either drain some of the fluid or seal blood vessels using a laser. Image source, Brioney Garrett Image caption, Nancy and Margo are four years old and looking forward to starting school Block blood flow For Brioney, the procedure was more straightforward and took about 20 minutes. She lay flat as a specially-designed machine fired high-powered ultrasound waves at tiny blood vessels in her placenta. "It was very quick and pretty painless," she said. Brioney and the other pregnant women, who were from the UK and across Europe, took part in the study after scans detected the condition during early pregnancy. Prof Christoph Lees, head of fetal medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and professor of obstetrics at Imperial College London, said the research was "very promising". "If this could work in a fully-fledged study, it could give hope to