DENVER, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Twin-To-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a potentially life-threatening condition in pregnancy that exists when blood passes disproportionately between identical twins or multiples with a shared placenta, affects more than 8,500 babies each year. With TTTS, the babies share blood vessels, which causes one baby to receive an overflow of blood and nutrients while the other receives little to none. Both babies are at risk from either heart failure or anemia. Statistics indicate that over 5,000 of 8,500 unborn babies affected by TTTS are lost each year, averaging 15 babies a day. Rarely do both, or all, babies survive, and the survivors are often faced with severe life-long disabilities such as cerebral palsy. TTTS can strike anyone at any time during pregnancy and often goes undiagnosed until it is too late. There is no known cause for this condition.
Local Littleton residents Lonnie and Michelle Sommers discovered that their twins suffered from TTTS in March 2003, when Michelle had a sonogram at 20 weeks. They consulted with world-renown fetal surgeon Rubin Quintero, M.D., with the Florida Institute for Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, (FIFDiT), who is one of only a few surgeons nationwide that will perform a life-saving in utero surgery to help limit the damaging effects of TTTS. Days later Sommers underwent surgery.
In June 2003, Sommers delivered healthy twins in Littleton Adventist Hospital's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). "We were so thankful to Dr. Quintero and to the hospital staff who safely delivered and cared for our girls," she said. "They are our miracle babies."
To help generate awareness of TTTS, and to fund research and treatment options, the Sommers family, with the support of Littleton Adventist Hospital, is organizing the TTTS Race for Hope, a 5k Run/Walk and 1-Mile Family Fun Run to benefit Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). The event will take place on Sunday, November 14 in Washington Park. Registration begins at 9 a.m. A National Pledge Drive and Sponsor Expo will also being held to coincide with this event. The event will also feature family-friendly activities including face painting and air jumpers.
Race for Hope title sponsor Littleton Adventist Hospital is excited to support this first-time event to help generate awareness of the potentially life-threatening effects of TTTS. The hospital's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Labor and Delivery and Perinatal Care Center utilize the most advanced technology to specially care for high-risk pregnancies and newborns, like those affected with TTTS, and provide the most extensive level of critical care available in south metro Denver.
Littleton Adventist HospitalCONTACT: Allison Hamm of Littleton Adventist Hospital, +1-303-734-8613,or pager, +1-303-203-5447; or Lonnie Somers of TTTS Race for Hope,+1-303-522-4387, Lonnie@TTTSRaceforHope.org