Perinatal center

The eastern Permian Basin now has a bit of a closer location for high-risk pregnancy care now that Odessa Regional Medical Center has opened its Midland Regional Perinatal Center.

The center held an open house Monday to detail the specialized work of the center, including looking for genetic problems in the fairly early stages of pregnancy to catch potential disorders.

"The main gist is this will make things more convenient for those in the eastern Basin while the center expands invasive fetal procedures while still in the womb," ORMC Community Relations Director Jacqui Gore said.

She said a large number of eastern Basin patients had to drive to Odessa, they but now have a place that’s a bit closer to home.

"More patients can be seen without as long of a wait because we have two centers," Gore said.

Dr. Jorge Blanco is one of the doctors in the new center. He said expanding to Midland is something the Perinatal Center has wanted to do for nearly a decade. The services offered are largely exclusive to the center, particularly nuchal translucency, a new technique that screens fetal chromosomes for abnormalities in the first 10 to 14 weeks of gestation.

"I’m the only certified physician in the area, and this is the latest and greatest test," he said.

He said the test can predict the presence of Down syndrome with 91 percent accuracy and two other lesser-known chromosomal disorders with 95 percent accuracy. With the expanded center, both Odessa and Midland locations will offer the testing.

Dr. Joseph Bruner joined the center last April in anticipation of the expansion to Midland. He specializes in deeper studies of problem pregnancies.

"There are so many things we can do that are minimally invasive. This is important to help families prepare if they know something is going to happen," Bruner said.

SERVICES

Main services of the perinatal center:

>> Consultations.

>> Genetic services.

>> 4-D ultrasounds.

>> DNA screening.

>> Placental biopsy.