In 1980, Dr. Michael R. Harrison and research colleagues at UCSF developed the techniques for open fetal surgery using animal models. Then in 1981, Harrison conducted the first open fetal surgery on a fetus to correct a dangerously advanced urinary tract obstruction.
Under the direction of Harrison, the newly created Fetal Treatment Center continued to develop and further refine fetal intervention techniques to treat a range of birth defects. It has also striven to develop less invasive means of treatment such as fetendo and fetal image-guided surgery.
Dr. Hanmin Lee M.D. is the current director for the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center, replacing Harrison, who is now director emeritus.
Clinical services
The Fetal Treatment Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of fetal birth defects:
Experimental research continues in the laboratory on a variety of potentially curable fetal diseases and the development of new smaller and better minimally invasive techniques.