Prenatal diagnosis of Milroy's primary congenital lymphedema

Milroy's primary congenital lymphedema (PCL) (hereditary lymphedema type I, Milroy disease) is present at birth, and mostly affects the dorsal aspects of feet. It is mostly a life-long condition but does not affect longevity. Complications are rare except for chronic discomfort and warmness of affected areas. PCL is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance due to a mutation in the gene locus encoding for VEGFR3 with resultant dysgenesis of microlymphatic vessels. We report on two fetuses where ultrasonographic examination at 15 weeks of gestation showed significant edema of the dorsal aspects of both feet with no evidence of other major malformations. Whereas in one fetus the edema resolved completely, it persisted in the second fetus and proved after birth to be of lymphedematous nature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of early prenatal diagnosis of primary congenital lymphedema via fetal ultrasonographic examination and of spontaneous resolution of lymphedema during fetal life. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.