[Early ultrasonic diagnosis of conjoined twins].
Conjoined twins is a rare congenital malformation occurring in 1:30,000-1:100,000 live births. Its early prenatal detection was extremely rare prior to the introduction of obstetric ultrasonography. We report 3 cases of early ultrasound diagnosis of conjoined twins at 9, 15 and 19 weeks of pregnancy, respectively. The diagnosis at 9 weeks of gestation was made via the transvaginal approach, and to the best of our knowledge is the earliest diagnosis reported in the English literature. In all 3 cases the fetuses were of the thoraco-omphalopagus type and had a shared heart. Pregnancy was discontinued in all 3 cases using methods appropriate for the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.
Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka Medical Center of Kupat Holim.
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I
Meizner
A
A
Levy
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M
Katz
M
M
Glezerman
D000032:Abortion, Therapeutic; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014428:Twins, Conjoined / Q000473:pathology*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal