The USF Fetal Therapy Center Team

Physicians

Dr Ruben Quintero joins the University of South Florida College of Medicine, as Professor and Director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Quintero came from the Florida Institute for Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital where he served as the medical director from 1996 to 2005.

A world-renowned fetal surgeon, Dr Quintero is known for developing the current technique that selectively identifies and lasers vessels involved in Twin Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) allowing each fetus to maintain its own blood volume. Dr Quintero proposed the staging classification of TTTS that is used worldwide. He has authored dozens of original scientific papers, book chapters and review. A frequently invited speaker at educational conferences, Dr. Quintero is the editor of the first book on minimally invasive fetal surgery, Diagnostic and Operative Fetoscopy, published in 2002.

Dr. Eftichia Kontopoulos, Assistant Professor in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is our second fetal surgeon.

Dr. Kontopoulos completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology and her fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Dr. Kontopoulos has authored numerous scientific papers, peer-reviewed articles, invited chapters and a book on General Medicine. She has been the recipient of several research awards from the New Jersey Maternal-Fetal Medicine Society in 3 consecutive years. Her main areas of interest are high level ultrasound, first trimester screening, prenatal diagnosis of the first and second trimester, and fetal therapy.

Nursing Staff

Patricia Bornick, RNC, MSN, Research/OB Coordinator for Fetal Therapy at Tampa, General Hospital, completed her BSN at Spalding College in Louisville, Kentucky and her MSN at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Ms. Bornick's clinical background is inpatient obstetrics and enjoys all aspects of perinatal nursing. She has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter on the nursing care of the fetoscopy patient.

Mary Allen, RN, CNOR, Fetal Therapy Patient Coordinator for Fetal Therapy at Tampa General Hospital, received her nursing diploma from Good Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing, Cincinnati, Ohio. Ms. Allen has over 35 years experience in operating room nursing and over 10 years experience in fetal surgery. She founded the first fetal surgery center using operative fetoscopy in the United States along with Dr. Quintero. She has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter on the nursing care of the fetoscopy patient.