Backed by Experience from Korea’s Largest Fetal Treatment Center, with 100,000 Detailed Fetal Ultrasound Exams and 10,000 Diagnostic Tests

 

Specialized Care for Congenital Heart Defects Through Multidisciplinary Care, Advanced Equipment and Cutting Edge Treatments

 

“We Aim to Improve Survival Rates by Providing Seamless Care from Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Defects to Delivery and Postnatal Treatment”

 

▲ Medical staff, including Director Mi-Young Lee of the Fetal Cardiac Center, and Director Hye-Sung Won of the Fetal Treatment Center (back row, first and third from left), pose for a commemorative photo to mark the opening of the Fetal Cardiac Center.

 

 

After struggling through in vitro fertilization, a 35 year old woman, Ms. Park, and her husband were finally expecting their first child. At 21 weeks of pregnancy, she underwent a detailed fetal echocardiogram at her local obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province. The examination revealed a congenital heart defect called a ventricular septal defect. Although the couple was devastated after finally having a long awaited child, they turned to the Fetal Cardiac Center at Asan Medical Center, which provides continuous care from before delivery through surgery after birth.

 

 

Director Mi-Young Lee of the Fetal Cardiac Center and Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Asan Medical Center, conducted a detailed assessment of the fetus through fetal echocardiography. The medical team then provided prenatal counseling with specialists from Neonatology, Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery to develop a specific plan for delivery and treatment after birth.

 

“When we first learned that our baby had a congenital heart defect, we felt overwhelmed about everything from delivery to treatment after birth,” Ms. Park said. “Knowing that the Fetal Cardiac Center at Asan Medical Center will coordinate the entire course of care gives us peace of mind.” Ms. Park is expecting to give birth this coming December.

 

 

Asan Medical Center, which treats the largest number of high-risk mothers and fetuses in Korea, recently established the Fetal Cardiac Center to provide more specialized care for fetuses with congenital heart disease.

 

Congenital heart defects are birth defects that affect approximately 8 to 10 out of every 1,000 newborns. Common conditions include ventricular septal defects, transposition of the great arteries and tetralogy of Fallot. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can lead to a complete recovery, making it important to accurately diagnose the condition through prenatal screening and establish a treatment plan in advance to ensure seamless care.

 

Asan Medical Center opened the Fetal Cardiac Center on September 23 to provide specialized care exclusively for fetal heart disease. The center builds on the fetal heart disease treatment experience of the Fetal Treatment Center, which opened in 2004 as the first of its kind in Korea, while providing dedicated care for mothers. It is the only independent center in Korea exclusively dedicated to the treatment of fetal heart disease.

 

At the Fetal Cardiac Center, fetal heart defects are precisely diagnosed through prenatal counseling, with continuous care provided from delivery planning to immediate postnatal management and surgery.

 

With the opening of the Fetal Cardiac Center, dedicated fetal cardiac care sessions will be expanded and additional advanced echocardiography equipment will be installed. The center not only offers a larger space but is also located on the sixth floor of the New Building, on the same floor as the delivery rooms, operating rooms and neonatal intensive care unit. This is expected to improve convenience for expectant mothers and enable the center to treat a greater number of fetuses with complex heart conditions.

 

At the Fetal Cardiac Center, specialists from Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neonatology, Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery will work together to comprehensively assess fetal conditions from before delivery through the postnatal period and provide multidisciplinary care that seamlessly connects to neonatal treatment.

 

▲ Director Mi-Young Lee of the Fetal Cardiac Center, and Director Hye-Sung Won of the Fetal Treatment Center, at Asan Medical Center (from left) discuss a treatment plan while reviewing the results of a detailed fetal echocardiogram.

 

The opening of Korea’s first Fetal Cardiac Center at Asan Medical Center was made possible by the extensive clinical experience and treatment outcomes accumulated by the Fetal Treatment Center.

 

Since its establishment in 2004, the Fetal Treatment Center has cared for more than 30,000 fetuses, performing approximately 100,000 detailed fetal ultrasound examinations and 10,000 diagnostic tests, including amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling and cord blood testing. The center conducts more than 200 prenatal consultations each year.

 

Fetal shunt procedures, which drain pleural or abdominal fluid by inserting a catheter into the fetus without opening the mother’s abdomen, were first performed in 1998. A total of 711 such procedures have been performed to date. In addition, the center has carried out 336 fetoscopic surgeries, 294 radiofrequency ablation procedures and 234 fetal transfusions, totaling 1,575 advanced fetal treatment procedures.

 

In particular, the annual number of detailed fetal echocardiograms has steadily increased from 298 in 2004 to a record high of 1,531 in 2025. Last year, approximately one in three detailed fetal ultrasound examinations performed at the center was a cardiac examination.

 

Going forward, the Fetal Cardiac Center plans to actively introduce advanced treatments, including fetal cardiac catheterization, a highly complex fetal intervention, to further strengthen its capabilities in treating severe fetal heart disease.

 

Director Mi-Young Lee of the Fetal Cardiac Center and Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Asan Medical Center, said, “The independent establishment of the Fetal Cardiac Center is expected to improve not only the early management of fetuses with high risk heart defects but also the success rates of cardiac surgery during the neonatal and infancy periods. When a fetal heart defect is detected, parents inevitably experience heightened concerns and anxiety about treatment. To provide reassurance, the Fetal Cardiac Center will bring together specialists from relevant departments to accurately and precisely assess the fetal condition through multidisciplinary care and develop delivery and treatment plans tailored to the severity of the condition.”

 

Director Hye-Sung Won of the Fetal Treatment Center and Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Asan Medical Center, said, “Our accumulated experience was built on the goal of giving families confidence that their baby can be saved at Asan Medical Center. Over time, this experience has laid the foundation for outcomes that have reached a world class level. Going forward, the Fetal Treatment Center and Fetal Cardiac Center will continue to strengthen their expertise in advanced fetal treatment and do their utmost to ensure that high risk mothers and fetuses receive safe treatment and return home healthy.”