LAUSR

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the presence of TAPS with TTTS or post-laser TAPS would change outcomes using different TAPS diagnostic criteria. METHODS TTTS cases undergoing laser surgery between 2012 and 2020 were included. Groups included pre-laser TTTS-only compared to TTTS+TAPS, and no post-laser TAPS compared to post-laser TAPS. Three prenatal TAPS diagnostic criteria were used: group A: MCA-PSV >1.5 MoM in one twin and <1 MoM in the other twin, group B: inter-twin MCA-PSV difference >1 MoM, and group C: inter-twin MCA-PSV difference >0.5 MoM. Perinatal outcomes including survival and severe cerebral injury were investigated. RESULTS 174 laser procedures were included. TTTS+TAPS cases were 16 in group A, 17 in group B, and 29 in group C. Post-laser TAPS cases were 11 in group A, 6 in group B, and 12 in group C. There were no differences in preoperative, operative variables and outcomes including survival and severe cerebral injury between groups using all three TAPS diagnostic criteria. The incidence of TTTS+TAPS was highest in group C (16.7%), then group B (9.8%), followed by group A (9.2%). The incidence of post-laser TAPS was highest in group C (9%), then group A (8.3%), followed by group B (4.5%). CONCLUSION Presence of TAPS complicating TTTS and presence of post-laser TAPS do not seem to be associated with worse perinatal outcomes including postnatal-ultrasound detected cerebral injury using three different TAPS criteria. Collaborative studies are needed to investigate the validity and the performance of different TAPS criteria. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.