St George’s Fetal Medicine staff saved our sons from TTTS complications.

Clare Vallely and Paul Walsh praise staff at St George’s – home of the Twins Trust Centre for Research and Clinical Excellence and call for more research into TTTS.

“We arrived in St Georges in February 2019 as a referral from Belfast for Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (fetal laser surgery is not offered in Northern Ireland).

“We knew before leaving Belfast that the odds for both our twins surviving was low as the TTTS was progressing rapidly.

“At only 16 weeks pregnant the team thought it best to try to hold out for another week before carrying out the laser surgery to better increase the chances of survival. We only made it three days as the TTTS had progressed rapidly and the call was made on a Friday morning to do the surgery that afternoon.

“We were given all the potential outcomes, including the very high likelihood that our donor twin was not going to make it. We were told he had just a 10% chance of survival.

“This was difficult and upsetting to hear. I think we both prepared for the worst but hoped for the best.

“The team treated us with the utmost respect in sharing as much information as they could but in the most kind and empathetic way which made the whole ordeal much more bearable.

“Basky and Asma carried out the surgery in as relaxed a manner as possible, talking to us throughout and keeping us calm. This meant such a lot.

“The surgery was a success but unfortunately my waters broke immediately after with our recipient twin (a risk we were well aware of due to the early stage of the pregnancy) and it looked like all hope was lost. We were then told to prepare for the worst.

“We stayed in hospital on Friday and Saturday night for what was the most harrowing wait of our lives, listening to the cries of newborn babies while knowing you might never hear your, own was particularly hard.

“But Asma carried out two follow up scans over the next two days which miraculously showed both twins still with strong heartbeats and the situation slowly turned around, so a glimmer of hope remained.

“We returned to Belfast to see out the remainder of a complex and stressful pregnancy and although we have had a bumpy road and some complications, both our boys survived and are thriving!

“We are eternally grateful to all the staff at St George’s Fetal Medicine unit, particularly Basky and Asma for saving these two bright, smiley faces and enabling us to become a family of four.

“Research into TTTS is vital and I know there are a number of clinicians who work tirelessly at the centre, supported by Twins Trust, looking into this devastating condition.

“The more we know about TTTS means decisions can be made at the right time and hopefully even more twin babies can survive and thrive like Conor and Ciaran.”