The normal fetus of an acardiac twin pregnancy: Perinatal management based on echocardiographic and sonographic evaluation |
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| Authors: | Alan E Donnenfeld MD Johanna van de Woestune Frank Craparo Catherine S Smith Avi Ludomirsky Stuart Weiner |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Pathology, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.;2. Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Experience with three prenatally diagnosed pregnancies complicated by an acardiac twin reveals that ultrasonography and echocardiography are helpful in detecting early signs of in-utero congestive heart failure in the normal twin. The use of Doppler blood flow analysis to determine direction of blood flow, post-mortem placental and fetal angiography, and umbilical cord blood gas determination provided proof that retrograde arterial perfusion occurs in the acardiac fetus. In a fourth pregnancy, an experimental approach to occlude the acardiac twin's umbilical cord was attempted, but was unsuccessful. |
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| Keywords: | Acardiac acephalic twin Hemicardia Prenatal diagnosis Doppler Twin reversed arterial perfusion |
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