Historical perspective

The feto–fetal transfusion syndrome story, an historical perspective.

Despite significant improvements made in its management over the last decade, feto–fetal transfusion syndrome (FFTS) has remained an intriguing condition. Two periods should be individualized: before and after the 1980s.

Before 1980, reports were mainly descriptive. The oldest medical description was reported in the Bible1 with Esau and Jacob. Other examples can be found through the centuries, as in the 1617 painting ‘The Swaddled Children’ that depicted two babies, a red one and a white one.2 Although the second period is shorter, it has coincided with dramatic improvements in the antenatal description, pathophysiology, and management of the syndrome.