A Case of Prenatally Diagnosed Uhl's Anomaly with Absent Pulmonary Valve Leaflets and Dysplastic Tricuspid Valve

Children (Basel). 2021 Mar 3;8(3):190. doi: 10.3390/children8030190.

Abstract

Uhl's anomaly is a very rare malformation of unknown cause, characterized by complete or partial absence of the right ventricular myocardium. The cardiac malformation causes progressive right heart failure, increased right-sided cardiac pressure, massive peripheral edema, and ascites. Patients usually present in infancy and rarely survive to adulthood. Previously, diagnosis was made at post-mortem evaluation, but advances in cardiac imaging now permit diagnosis during fetal life. We report a case of Uhl's anomaly in a newborn baby imaged at 23 + 3 weeks of gestation by fetal echocardiography. There was an aneurysmally dilated thin-walled right ventricle with hypertrophy of the right ventricular apical muscles, the tricuspid valve was dysplastic, and the pulmonary valve leaflets were absent.

Keywords: Uhl’s anomaly; fetal echocardiography; pulmonary valve leaflets.

Publication types

  • Case Reports