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Patient Center: Fetal Treatment Evaluations at UCSF

Welcome to The Fetal Treatment Center, a vibrant part of UCSF’s Medical Center and Children’s Hospital. Our staff is here to help you through this challenging time and will do all we can to assist you and your family.

We ask that before contacting us you read through this material to review your next steps and prepare any questions you may have about becoming a new patient.

• How can I schedule an appointment?
• The UCSF Evaluation
• Our Clinical Office
• What should I do after making a UCSF appointment?
• Emergency Evaluations
• Optional Evaluations
• Multidisciplinary Consultations

How can I schedule an appointment?

We recommend that all potential UCSF Fetal Treatment Center patients fill out the in-person appointment request form. If for any reason you have a problem using the form, please give us a call at 1-800-RX-FETUS (1-800-793-3887) or send us an email at fetus@surgery.ucsf.edu.

Our team will review your information and determine if a comprehensive evaluation is necessary. Our nurse coordinator may contact you for more information if required and will let you know the results of this initial review

If we determine that the Fetal Treatment Center can help, the ideal situation is that you come to UCSF for a full evaluation by our experts. However, if you are not able to immediately travel to our center in San Francisco, California (Directions & Transportation Info), it may be recommended that you sign up to become an online patient

The UCSF Evaluation

If it is determined by the nurse coordinator, surgeon on-call or the perinatologists that a UCSF evaluation is necessary and recommended, please review these step prior to coming to our center in San Francisco, California

Your evaluation at the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center may involve a number of different examinations and consultations with our team members. These may include an ultrasound, fetal echocardiogram, or MRI by one of our radiology specialists. Please note that each birth defect requires different tests to fully evaluate the fetus. Fetal karyotyping otherwise known as ‘genetic testing’ (chromosome analysis) is also necessary and is performed by amniocentesis. Again, the nurse coordinator, in consultation with the physicians, will arrange these appointments for you at UCSF, upon your first visit.

Our Clinical Office

The UCSF Fetal Treatment Center patient clinic is located in San Francisco on the ground floor in the UCSF Ambulatory Care Center at 400 Parnassus Avenue in suite A123. For detailed directions please visit Direction & Transportation Information.

Patient Wifi HotSpots

Patients with laptops are welcome to use the free patient wifi access that is available at our office and in other areas throughout UCSF. The SSID name of the patient wifi network is UCSFMC-HotSpot. If you are logging in for the first time, you will be directed to an sign-on page i; afterwhich, you will be logged out if you have not used the internet for a period of time. Login and password information is listed below and can be recieved from our front desk administrator or any patient information center.

What should I do after making a UCSF appointment?

1. Have your obstetric records faxed to the Fetal Treatment Center at 415 502-0660 (this often requires that you sign a written release of medical records to both your specialist and regular obstetrician). Release forms can be obtained from you doctor’s office.
2. Fax a copy of your insurance card (front and back) to the Fetal Treatment Center at 415 502-0660
3. Make sure the Fetal Treatment Center staff knows the best method to communicate your evaluation schedule to you (email, fax, telephone, or cell phone number). If you filled out the Patient form this will have been communicated to our staff.
4. You should contact your insurance company to determine if an authorization is necessary for a second opinion at UCSF, and get the name and telephone number of a contact person

Please note that each fetal problem requires different diagnostic tests. Much is dependent on whether or not the fetus is compromised and in need of an immediate evaluation. We will tailor your evaluation day based on your immediate situation and the needs of your fetus.

Emergency Evaluations

Some fetal problems are considered an emergency and patients who are seeking a second opinion or intervention will need to come immediately to UCSF. Examples of these types of patients are fetuses with Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation (CCAM) or Sacrococcygeal Teratoma (SCT) who exhibit signs of hydrops, or twin pregnancies with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome and failed amnioreduction. Your primary care physician should be able to determine whether or not your evaluation is an emergency. If this is the case, please call our 1-800-RX-FETUS (1-800-793-3887) number and we will attend to your needs immediately.

Optional Evaluations

Most fetal problems can be evaluated electively (can wait greater than 24-48 hours to be seen). These patients fall into two categories: those who need an ultrasound study and visit with the perinatologist, and the more complex patient who needs multiple studies, tests, and consultations.

If you may have a pregnancy with an isolated, non-threatening birth defect you can be evaluated at UCSF in a single day. Examples of these types of problems are: gastroschisis, omphalocele, Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation (CCAM) without hydrops, or Sacrococcygeal Teratoma (SCT) without hydrops.

It is important to note that our Fetal Treatment physicians require an ultrasound study at UCSF prior to consultation, as well as your prenatal records. Again our nurse coordinator can assist you in making these appointments. If you cannot be evaluated at UCSF we also work with a number of referral diagnostic centers (around the world) that can also provide ultrasound tests that meet with our standards and level of expertise.

Once you become at Fetal Treatment Center patient your case will be presented weekly at our meetings which include over 30 experts in the treatments of birth defects. This multidisciplinary approach is what sets UCSF apart from many other centers of fetal care. We offer services in nursing, neonatology, perinatology, general surgery or neurosurgery and social services.

Multidisciplinary Consultations

Many patients have problems that require the expertise of numerous members of the Fetal Treatment Center team. These services include social services, nursing, neonatology, perinatology, general surgery or neurosurgery. If you are from the San Francisco area, and will more than likely deliver at UCSF, your case will presented at the Fetal Treatment meeting on Tuesday afternoon and a plan formulated for care throughout your pregnancy. You can be seen for an ultrasound and visit with the perinatologist, be discussed at our weekly Fetal Treatment meeting, and return to UCSF for a follow-up appointments with obstetrics, social work, neonatology, and surgery. If coming to UCSF is a hardship please know we can assist you in making other arrangements which will still allow you and your family to receive our services and expertise.

Read Further: Financing Your Treatment