Creating a working group for prenatal diagnosis and management as a venue to facilitate neurosurgery health care delivery.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To facilitate the communication and engagement with the parents of a fetus with a neurosurgical condition, as well as subsequent care of the newborn, the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville created a multidisciplinary working group.

METHODS

The University of Florida Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery performed a staged process to develop a multidisciplinary prenatal working group. Phase I: establish communications with perinatology, neonatology and radiology. Phase II: initiate clinical working sessions with neurosurgery, neonatology, perinatology, radiology. Phase III: the working sessions were progressively expanded to include other specialties of interest.

RESULTS

This report addresses the development and the subsequent monthly meetings that were held between March 2004 and October 2008. There were a total of 246 pregnancies in which a significant fetal condition was present. Of these, 53 generated neurosurgical consultations on the basis of fetal imaging (ultrasound and/or MRI). Those that required postnatal surgery were able to have timely coordinated scheduled delivery and subsequent neurosurgical procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

If neurosurgeons do not have access to a multidisciplinary prenatal working group, they may take the lead and facilitate the establishment of such a team approach. This can lead to better prenatal communications with the parents/families, coordination of delivery and timely postnatal neurosurgical management.