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Enteric duplications are rare lesions, and relatively few cases have been diagnosed prenatally. We present, to our knowledge, the first case of an associated communicating ileal duplication cyst in a huge omphalocele diagnosed prenatally. The prenatal ultrasound findings revealed four features of the cystic lesion including peristaltic movements of the cystic wall, communication between the cyst and normal bowel lumen, intra-cystic echogenic contents, and echogenic mesenteric tissue (fat) close to the cyst. These distinct characteristics helped us to make a firm in utero diagnosis., (Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

A 35-year-old multiparous Chinese woman underwent a uterine lavage procedure for prenatal sex determination at 7-8 weeks' gestation. The baby was delivered by elective Caesarean section because of breech presentation at 38 weeks' gestation. The child weighed 2425 g and had severe reduction defects of all four limbs. This case warrants advising prospective patients of a possible association and encouraging practitioners to mount a careful prenatal ultrasonography and postnatal follow-up of all pregnancies investigated by prenatal diagnostic uterine lavage.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy, safety and influence on subsequent fertility of sulprostone, a prostaglandin E2 analog, in terminating pathological pregnancies via the extraamniotic route., Methods: Forty pregnant women with intrauterine fetal death or major congenital anomalies were enrolled. Sulprostone was instilled into the extraamniotic space through a silicon Foley catheter. The instillation rate was 0.5-1 microgram/min. Instillation was discontinued when the catheter was expelled or when rupture of the membranes occurred. The duration of instillation and the time interval to completion of abortion was recorded. Information about subsequent fertility was collected by telephone or at outpatient clinic visits., Results: The mean duration of instillation was 7.0 h and the mean dose of sulprostone was 314.8 micrograms. The mean induction-to-abortion interval (IAI) was 17.0 h. In two of the 40 patients, the cervix was not adequately ripened after 48 h and these pregnancies were ultimately terminated by alternative methods. The success rate of termination in 48 h was 92.5% (37/40). No severe side effects were encountered., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the English literature of administration of sulprostone by extraamniotic instillation for termination of pathological pregnancies. The method is effective and safe and has an insignificant influence on subsequent fertility.