Mussel-inspired adhesives for fetal surgery. (a) Chemical structure of DOPA functionalized branched PEG polymer (cPEG). (b) Insertion of a fetoscopic instrument during fetal surgery. After removal of instrument, a small defect is left in the uterus and the amniotic sac (fetal membranes). The sac defect does not heal, leading to postoperative complications including membrane rupture and preterm birth. (c) Histology of the fetal membrane (pink) shows that the mussel inspired sealant(purple)successfully sealedatrocar-induceddefect. Reprintedfrom[56],Copyright 2010,withpermissionfromElsevier. (Forinterpretation ofthereferences to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)