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Conjoined twins are a rare form of monozygotic and monoamniotic twins. Fetal prognosis is very poor and, if the diagnosis is made early, it most often requires therapeutic abortion. We here report a case of three-hour old thoracopagus conjoined twins who were born vaginally, at term, at 40 weeks + 3 days. They were born to non-consanguineous parents, without any significant pathological history. Their mother was young and primiparous. She received 5 antenatal visits and 3 obstetric ultrasounds were performed by an inexperienced physician. The diagnosis of thoracopages twins was suspected based on clinical examination and computerized tomography (CT) results. This test showed cardiovascular abnormalities incompatible with life. The twins died after 23 hours of age due to acute respiratory distress. Conjoined twins are a rare congenital abnormality. Early diagnosis based on ultrasound would help to determine common anatomical structures, investigate associated congenital abnormalities, schedule delivery in a suitable structure and multidisciplinary neonatal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a study of five patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the department of antenatal diagnosis over a period of two years. Our study highlights the overall benchmarks for this disease and its management as well as the news on prenatal assessment of neonatal prognosis using Lung Over Head Ratio (LHR): ultrasound versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the third world. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognosis of these new-born babies and support parents of a fetus with diaphragmatic hernia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital hernia of the diaphragmatic dome (CDC) is a congenital embryopathy where all or part of the diaphragmatic dome fails to form. Its rate is 1/3500 live births with a male predominance. This study reports a case of Bochdalek hernia as well as data in the literature and highlights the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in this disease. Diagnosis and antenatal management are essential to reduce patient's mortality and morbidity. Prognosis is poor and depends on the presence and degree of pulmonary hypoplasia and on the association with congenital malformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal brain tumors are rare. Teratoma is the most common histological type. Their evolution is often fatal. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging allows for early antenatal diagnosis. However, definitive diagnosis is based on histologic examination. Placental metastases are rare and complicate more often the course of malignant melanomas, hemopathies, breast and bronchial cancers. In pregnant women who have recently had a cancer, anatomopathologic examination of the placenta should be requested to detect tumor invasion. Similarly, neonatal assessment and extended pediatric follow-up are required. The establishment of registries collecting all cancer cases diagnosed among pregnant woman is essential for a better understanding of the epidemiology of these cancers as well as of maternal and paediatric prognostic factors. We here report a case of fetal brain tumor in a woman with recurrent ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ileal atresia is a rare congenital malformation which affects a small percentage of the population, with an incidence of 1 in 5000 cases. It may be suspected and diagnosed by ultrasound at the end of the second and third trimester. Obstetrical and surgical consultation is the key to success here. Eliminating a systemic disease with poor prognosis, fighting to reduce premature births and immediately entrusting the child to the surgeon are the main objectives to achieve. During surgery, the surgeon will determine the type of atresia, its location, single or multiple areas of occlusion and its length; thus surgery depends on etiology. Our study reports an interesting clinical case of ileal atresia diagnosed antenatall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fetal head descent is used to demonstrate the maternal pelvis capacity to accommodate the fetal head. This is especially important in low resource settings that have high rates of childbirth related maternal deaths and morbidity. This study looked at maternal height and an additional measure, maternal pelvis height, from automotive engineering. The objective of the study was to determine the associations between maternal: height and pelvis height with the rate of fetal head descent in expectant Ugandan mothers. Methods: This was a cross sectional study on 1265 singleton mothers attending antenatal clinics at five hospitals in various parts of Uganda. In addition to the routine antenatal examination, each mother had their pelvis height recorded following informed consent. Survival analysis was done using STATA 12. Results: It was found that 27% of mothers had fetal head descent with an incident rate of 0.028 per week after the 25th week of pregnancy. Significant associations were observed between the rate of fetal head descent with: maternal height (Adj Haz ratio 0.93 P<0.01) and maternal pelvis height (Adj Haz ratio 1.15 P<0.01). Conclusion: The significant associations observed between maternal: height and pelvis height with rate of fetal head descent, demonstrate a need for further study of maternal pelvis height as an additional decision support tool for screening mothers in low resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extralobar pulmonary sequestrations (ELS) are masses of non-functioning lung tissue that are supplied by an anomalous systemic artery and do not have a bronchial connection to the native tracheobronchial tree. On prenatal ultrasonography, an ELS appears as a well-defined echodense, homogeneous mass. Detection by color flow Doppler ultrasonography of a systemic artery from the aorta to the fetal lung lesion is a pathognomonic feature of fetal ELS. MR imaging may help in the diagnosis of pulmonary sequestration by demonstrating a solid, well-defined mass, and the feeding artery. In this case report, we describe the sonographic and MR diagnosis of an ELS in a fetus at 22 weeks gestation with a review of the available literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a study of five patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the department of antenatal diagnosis over a period of two years. Our study highlights the overall benchmarks for this disease and its management as well as the news on prenatal assessment of neonatal prognosis using Lung Over Head Ratio (LHR): ultrasound versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the third world. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognosis of these new-born babies and support parents of a fetus with diaphragmatic hernia., Competing Interests: Les auteurs ne déclarent aucun conflit d´intérêts., (Copyright: Imane Attar et al.)

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous group of diseases affecting type I collagen and characterized by bone fragility. Lethal forms are rare and are characterized by micromelia associated with limb deformities. We report two cases of prenatally diagnosed lethal OI. Patients underwent ultrasound examination at 17 and 25 weeks of amenorrhoea, supplemented with fetal skeletal CT scanning in one case. Therapeutic abortion was recommended in both cases., Competing Interests: Les auteurs ne déclarent aucun conflit d'intérêt.