18.06.2024

For the first time Kazakhstani doctors began to correct intrauterine malformations thus reducing prevalence of disability in children from birth. Fetal surgery procedures are performed in cases where they can improve the health and life of the unborn child. For Kazakhstan, fetal surgery is a completely new field of medicine that is beginning its work. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of AYALA Charity Foundation.

Today, the Center for Perinatology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery hosted a practical master class on the first correction of intrauterine pathology in Kazakhstan with participation of Andrey Evgenyevich Bugerenko, a surgeon from the leading private Russian Medical Center “Mother and Child” of M.A. Kurtser, and Natalya Vladimirovna Kosovtsova, a surgeon at the Research Institute for Maternal and Child Welfare in Yekaterinburg, where fetal operations are successfully performed for many years.

“The Ministry of Health considers reducing disability in children from birth to be a priority objective. Fetal surgery is considered worldwide as one of the most important tools for achieving this goal. We analyzed the best world experience accumulated in the practice of fetal operations over 30 years. All this knowledge formed a basis of the Fetal Surgery Standards which were first developed in Kazakhstan. Teams of doctors from the Center for Perinatology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery (Almaty) and from the UMC (Astana) have completed long-term serious and complex theoretical and practical training in fetal surgery in Kazakhstan and abroad. Therefore, this is an important and significant day for healthcare in Kazakhstan,” Akmaral Alnazarova, Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, emphasized.

The Ministry of Health performed preparatory activities for the launch of fetal surgery in Kazakhstan for two years. A group of doctors was selected from the Center for Perinatology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Almaty and from the UMC Corporate Foundation in Astana.

“The Almaty City Akimat provides comprehensive support to the Public Health Department aimed at introducing the latest advanced medical practices that help improve the health of residents of the country’s largest metropolis and reduce disability in children from birth,” Asem Nusupova, Deputy Akim of Almaty for Health Affairs, emphasized.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and AYALA Charity Foundation ensured participation of the doctors in more than 10 practical master classes and seminars, and organized personal training from the best foreign practitioners of fetal surgery. The foundation also organized a trip of medical specialists to the World Congress of Fetal Surgery in Spain last year.

“The objective of reducing disability in children from birth in Kazakhstan is the main one for AYALA Foundation. We are pleased to help the Ministry of Health in the launch and development of fetal surgery in our country. I thank our respected partner, GASENERGY company, which helped us equip the fetal surgery department at the Center for Perinatology and Pediatric Surgery with special medical equipment — lasers and fetoscopes — worth more than KZT 29.3 million,” Aidan Suleimenova, Founder and President of AYALA Charity Foundation, noted.

Fetal medicine (fetal surgery) is a highly specialized field of medicine where patients are unborn children. Fetal surgery is based on innovative technologies that allow correcting and treating early pathological conditions of the fetus using minimally invasive procedures.

“Today is a significant day not only for our Center, but also for the country as a whole. For the first time in Kazakhstan, we launch implementation of a revolutionary fetal surgery project with the support of the Ministry of Health, the Akimat and the Department of Public Health of Almaty, as well as AYALA Charity Foundation. Fetal surgery is an innovative field of medicine that allows intervention in the life and health of the fetus even before its birth. This gives the mother a chance to give birth to a healthy baby and become a happy mother. Our team of specialists has already done a great job for preparing and mastering new technologies, having completed training in countries such as Israel, Russia, Spain, Belarus, and Portugal.

We plan that the number of operations for correction of intrauterine defects will reach 150 per year. The fetal surgery project will become a new stage in the development of our center and improving the quality of medical care for mothers and children in our country,” Gulnara Nurlanova, Director of the Center for Perinatology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Almaty, emphasized.

Soon, the first practical master class on fetal surgery with participation of Natalya Vladimirovna Kosovtsova, Doctor of Medical Sciences and member of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society (IFMSS) will be held at the UMC in Astana with the support of AYALA Foundation.

Currently, minimally invasive endoscopic (fetoscopic) operations are increasingly replacing open surgery, as they are safer for the mother and fetus. In many countries, the range of fetal diseases that are subject to intrauterine correction is expanding every year, new technologies are developed and improved, intrauterine intervention procedures for congenital heart diseases, hiatal and CNS hernias are actively introduced, and doctors have achieved much success in this area for today.