Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Held on December 21 in Westchester

At the ribbon cutting for Montefiore's Fetal Diagnosis, Genetics and Therapy unit in Hartsdale are (l-r): Susan Klugman, M.D., director of Reproductive Genetics; Pe'er Dar, M.D., director of Fetal Medicine and OB/GYN Ultrasound; Irwin R. Merkatz, M.D., The Chella and Moise Safra Professor and University Chair at Montefiore and Einstein; and Peter Semczuk, D.D.S., M.P.H., Vice President of Clinical Affairs.

Hartsdale, NY — Montefiore Medical Center has opened a new facility for fetal diagnosis, genetics and therapy in Hartsdale. The new site will offer advanced prenatal diagnostic and therapeutic care in the New York tri-state area, including consultations for complicated fetal conditions, genetic counseling, diagnostic procedures and in-utero fetal treatments.

"As one of only a few facilities in the United States to offer fetal surgical procedures, these new services signal a leap forward in the care of the fetal patient," said Pe'er Dar, M.D., director of Fetal Medicine and OB/GYN Ultrasound at Montefiore. "In addition to performing prenatal screenings and surveillance for high-risk pregnancies, our team will use a multidisciplinary approach to offer breakthrough surgical procedures for complicated fetal conditions."

Among the innovative procedures to be offered by the fetal team include fetoscopic laser surgery and radiofrequency ablation in complicated twin pregnancies and the EX-Utero Intrapartum Treatment, a procedure designed to secure an airway in a fetus with a severe facial or laryngeal abnormality or a neck tumor who would otherwise die immediately after birth due to inability to breathe. 

The leadership team includes Dr. Dar, who also is associate professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Irwin R. Merkatz, M.D., The Chella and Moise Safra Professor and University Chair at Montefiore and Einstein; and Susan Klugman, M.D., director of Reproductive Genetics at Montefiore and associate professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at Einstein.