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>>Renowned fetal surgeon Dr. Rubén Quintero joins USF Health

   
 
Tampa, FL (Dec. 7, 2005) -- A world-renowned fetal surgeon has joined USF Health as professor and director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Rubén A. Quintero, MD, pioneered a novel laser surgery technique to treat twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition resulting from the unbalanced flow of blood between two fetuses sharing a common tplacenta.


The condition affects up to 10 percent of identical twins in utero, and, without surgical intervention, both babies could die.


"I look forward to enhancing research and clinical practice in maternal fetal medicine as part of a major academic medical center," said Dr. Quintero, who will join USF Health's established maternal fetal medicine practice at Tampa General Hospital.


"We're delighted we could ensure that Dr. Quintero stays within the region. There are very few other surgeons in the United States with his experience," said Mo Kasti, chief operating officer for USF Health. "His addition will enable us to make life better through research, education and health care by focusing on the continuum of women and children's health."


"Dr. Quintero is a world-class expert in minimally-invasive fetal surgery, and a first-rate specialist capable of handling the most complicated cases," said David Keefe, MD, professor and chair of USF Obstetrics and Gynecology. "He will direct our high-risk pregnancy program and help us continue our efforts to advance maternal and child health in the Tampa Bay region and the state."


Dr. Quintero proposed the staging classification of TTTS that is used worldwide, and is one of few physicians who performs laser surgery to correct the syndrome. He developed the technique that selectively identifies and lasers malfunctioning vessels involved in the syndrome, allowing each fetus to maintain its own blood volume.


A native of Venezuela, Dr. Quintero received his medical degree from the Universidad Central deVenezuela Medical School in Caracas in 1983. He completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.


He was an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wayne State University Hospital in Detroit before relocating to Tampa. Dr. Quintero was medical director of the Florida Institute for Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital from 1996 to 2005.


A fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Quintero has published many peer-reviewed papers and is the editor of the first book on minimally invasive fetal surgery, Diagnostic and Operative Fetoscopy, published in 2002.

 

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USF Health is an enterprise dedicated to making life better by improving health in the wider environment, in communities, and for individuals. USF Health has, as its core, the three colleges of Public Health, Nursing and Medicine, including a School of Physical Therapy, as well as the healthcare delivered by its clinicians. In partnership with its affiliated hospitals, USF Health's research funding last year was $134 million -- more than half of which came from federal sources.