Mount Sinai Hospital has a long history of providing cutting-edge women’s and infants’ care, including specialized fetal surgeries for high-risk pregnancies that help many families celebrate important firsts, like birthdays. This week, the Ontario Fetal Centre team celebrated their own milestone, a one year anniversary.
Launched last year in partnership with SickKids, the Ontario Fetal Centre was created to improve access to in-utero medical and surgical interventions for patients, families and sick babies.
“One of the best things that has come from development of the Ontario Fetal Centre is the opportunity for collaboration. This includes our partners from SickKids, our Labour & Delivery team, genetics, IT support, research assistants, maternal fetal medicine specialists, clerical staff, service assistants, pediatrics team, social work, perinatal psychiatry and spiritual care,” said Ingrid Larsen, Registered Nurse and Clinical Coordinator of the Ontario Fetal Centre. “From a tiny clinic to a multi-centre, multi-disciplinary, collaborative program, the Ontario Fetal Centre offers the best prenatal diagnosis and therapy our country has to offer.”
“It’s a true testament to the Ontario Fetal Centre when parents send us videos of their little ones, especially during important milestones like their first steps, which, without this program, they might not have ever taken,” said Dr. Greg Ryan, head of the Ontario Fetal Centre and Fetal Medicine Program at Mount Sinai. “Seeing these children and their families thrive is life-changing work and it’s done right here in Canada. We’re very proud of that.”
Some of the milestones from this past year include:
- Performed over 1,400 procedures that include fetal echocardiographs, neurological interventions, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome interventions and Cervical cerclage, also known as a cervical stitch
- Launched a joint Fetal Echo Clinic, in collaboration with SickKids, where expectant moms are able to receive all their care at one location
- Developed the Ontario Fetal Centre website to raise awareness of the services offered by the program
- Opened a dedicated operating room that is fully equipped with specialized fetal surgery equipment and staffed by specially trained nurses and physicians
The Gibbons family story, featured in the most recent issue of the Sinai Health Magazine, are an example of how the incredible work being done at the Ontario Fetal Centre is benefiting patients in Ontario.
Check out the photos below from the celebration.
