Fetal echocardiography before and after prenatal aspiration of a fetal ovarian cyst

Ginekol Pol. 2009 Aug;80(8):629-31.

Abstract

The main criteria for establishing fetal ovarian cysts prognosis are their diameter and echogenicity The choice of management in case of fetal ovarian cyst remains controversial. In the following article we have reported a case of a fetal ovarian cyst with detailed fetal echocardiography before and after prenatal aspiration. The fetus at 35 weeks of gestation presented with an ovarian cyst of 70 mm in diameter and normal heart anatomy and size. However detailed fetal echocardiography revealed functional abnormalities such as: monophasic inflow pattern of tricuspid valve, holosystolic tricuspid regurgitation and pericardial effusion. Two days after prenatal aspiration of the cyst, the functional abnormalities in fetal echocardiography receded. After prenatal aspiration we observed a residual cyst of 15 mm in maximal diameter. The delivery was spontaneous at 36th week of pregnancy and the infant was discharged from Neonatology Dept on the sixth day of postnatal life. The cyst regressed spontaneously in the course of the next two months. This is the first report when detailed fetal echocardiography revealed hemodynamic improvement after prenatal aspiration of a fetal ovarian cyst which may mean that huge fetal ovarian cysts might complicate fetal heart function.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Echocardiography
  • Female
  • Fetal Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Fetal Diseases / surgery*
  • Humans
  • Ovarian Cysts / complications
  • Ovarian Cysts / diagnostic imaging*
  • Ovarian Cysts / embryology
  • Ovarian Cysts / surgery*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Outcome
  • Suction / methods
  • Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / diagnostic imaging
  • Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / etiology
  • Ultrasonography, Prenatal / methods