Thanatophoric dysplasia: role of 3-dimensional sonography.
OBJECTIVE
Fetal thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) is a lethal skeletal dysplasia. Therefore, antenatal diagnosis of TD is mandatory in routine obstetrical care. However, because TD is relatively rare, prenatal detection is not an easy task. In the past, 2-dimensional (2D) sonography had been applied as the mainstay of prenatal diagnosis of TD. In this series, we report our work of detecting TD using 3-dimensional (3D) sonography.


METHODS
We reviewed our computer database of prenatal diagnosis of TD in National Cheng Kung University Hospital from May 1995 to June 2006. All the cases were scanned using 2D and 3D sonography. In total, 9 cases of fetal TD were diagnosed.


RESULTS
3D sonography can detect fetal TD and provide additional vivid illustration after various modes of reconstruction that 2D sonography cannot afford.


CONCLUSIONS
3D sonography may contribute significantly to the detection of TD in utero and provide a novel visual depiction of this defect after reconstruction. Thus, 3D sonography may assist substantially in prenatal diagnosis as well as consultation.
Tsai
Pei-Yin
PY
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University Medical College and Hospital, Tainan 70428, Taiwan.
Chang
Chiung-Hsin
CH
Yu
Chen-Hsiang
CH
Cheng
Yueh-Chin
YC
Chang
Fong-Ming
FM
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013796:Thanatophoric Dysplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal; D055815:Young Adult