title: Fetal magnetic resonance imaging in the antenatal diagnosis and management of hydrocolpos.
abstract: Hydrocolpos should be considered systematically when an abdominopelvic cystic mass is diagnosed in a female fetus. Because the prognosis and neonatal management of isolated hydrocolpos with spontaneous resolution differs greatly from that of hydrocolpos associated with a cloacal malformation, it is important to ascertain prenatally whether there are associated anomalies. We report the prenatal characteristics of three fetuses with hydrocolpos; in two cases there was spontaneous resolution and one infant was born with digestive tract atresia. The principal ultrasound findings were an oblong anechoic pelvic mass with or without a sagittal septum, located behind a normal bladder. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the cervical imprint on the vagina confirmed the diagnosis of hydrocolpos and helped to diagnose cloacal malformation by demonstrating the absence of meconium beside the bladder on T1 sequences. Our cases show that MRI is useful for differentiating isolated hydrocolpos from hydrocolpos associated with cloacal malformation.
authors.affiliation: Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale U782, Université Paris Sud, Hôpital Antoine Béclère, Clarmart, France. olivier.picone@abc.ap-hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Picone
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laperelle
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sonigo
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Levaillant
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frydman
authors.forename: M-V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Senat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002988:Cloaca / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D052202:Hydrocolpos / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006831:Polyhydramnios / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods