Rainbow Institute achieves rare fetal heart breakthrough

Hyderabad: Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute has achieved one of the world’s first successful clinical cases of direct fetal immunotherapy to treat immune-mediated fetal myocarditis, a rare and life-threatening heart condition in unborn babies. The breakthrough, published in JACC: Case Reports, places the Hyderabad-based institute among a handful of centres globally to demonstrate success with this advanced in-utero intervention.

The study involved five foetuses diagnosed between 21 and 27 weeks of gestation with severe immune-related cardiac disease caused by maternal antibodies. Conventional maternal therapy was inadequate, prompting doctors to deliver immunotherapy directly to the fetus under advanced imaging guidance. Following treatment, all five foetuses showed marked improvement in heart function, normalisation of heart rhythm and reduction of fluid accumulation.

All babies were delivered alive and remained clinically stable after birth, offering new hope for families facing complex prenatal heart conditions.