Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies is pleased to welcome Emanuel “Mike” Vlastos, MD as the newest member of the expert team at the Fetal Care Center. With more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Vlastos is a board-certified maternal-fetal medicine physician who offers advanced expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of fetal anomalies, often before the baby is born.

In his new role as director of the Fetal Care Center, Dr. Vlastos will offer fetoscopic procedures that can address and potentially improve conditions in a developing fetus. He is an expert in prenatal treatment for spina bifida (myelomeningocele), twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, bladder outlet obstructions and congenital diaphragmatic hernia, among other complex fetal medicine capabilities.

Dr. Vlastos has helped to establish fetal myelomeningocele repair programs in the United States, Argentina, Germany and India. He earned his medical degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and completed residencies in family practice at University of Wyoming in Casper, Wyoming, and obstetrics and gynecology at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. He completed a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was fellow of the year.

As part of the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine, the Fetal Care Center is home to specialized physicians working collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team for optimal outcomes. Orlando Health Winnie Palmer is the first – and only – facility in the Southeast United States to perform in utero surgery to repair spina bifida (myelomeningocele). The hospital is also an American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) certified center for fetal anatomy screening and echocardiogram, as well as a center of excellence for managing patients with placenta accreta.

ORLANDO HEALTH WINNIE PALMER HOSPITAL for WOMEN & BABIES

Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies is a 350-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of women and babies. The hospital includes comprehensive fetal diagnostics and labor and delivery services, a regional center for neonatal intensive care, maternal intensive care and women’s services. Annually, more than 13,000 babies are expected to be born at Winnie Palmer Hospital, making it the busiest labor and delivery unit in the state of Florida. The hospital is also home to the state’s only in-utero surgery program to repair Spina bifida defects. To learn more, visit www.winniepalmerhospital.com.