Obstet Gynecol Sci.  2016 Sep;59(5):393-396. 10.5468/ogs.2016.59.5.393.

An extremely rare case of prenatally diagnosed absent both aortic and pulmonary valves

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. poptwinkle@hanmail.net

Abstract

We describe a case of absent aortic and pulmonary valves, diagnosed at 16.4 weeks of gestation. Fetal echocardiography showed cardiomegaly with dilated both ventricles. No valve leaflets were observed in the aorta and pulmonary artery, and a typical to-and-fro flow pattern was noted in both great arteries on color Doppler imaging. Fetal hydrops was also detected. Follow-up ultrasonographic evaluation at 19 weeks demonstrated intrauterine fetal death. Postmortem autopsy revealed the absence of both aortic and pulmonary valve leaflets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the earliest diagnosed case of absent both aortic and pulmonary valves and only the second case to be diagnosed prenatally.

Keyword

Aortic valve; Congenital heart disease; Prenatal diagnosis; Pulmonary valve

MeSH Terms

Aorta
Aortic Valve
Arteries
Autopsy
Cardiomegaly
Echocardiography
Fetal Death
Follow-Up Studies
Heart Defects, Congenital
Hydrops Fetalis
Pregnancy
Prenatal Diagnosis
Pulmonary Artery
Pulmonary Valve*

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Color and pulsed-wave Doppler showing a typical to-and-fro flow across the aortic (A-C) and pulmonary (D-F) valve annulus. Rt, right; Ao, aorta; LV, left ventricle; Lt, left; RV, right ventricle; PA, pulmonary artery.

  • Fig. 2 Postmortem autopsy showing the absence of both aortic (A) and pulmonary (B) valves (arrows). LV, left ventricle; RV, right ventricle.


Reference

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