Three-vessel and trachea view – important marker in the diagnosis of great vessels anomalies
M.C. Comănescu, A.C. Comănescu, D. Iliescu, R. Drăguşin, A.I. Popa
Rezumat: Congenital heart malformations are the most common cause
of fetal and infant mortality, with an incidence of 4-13 per
1000 live births. Antenatal ultrasound evaluation of the fetal
heart has developed over the past 30 years, and has allowed
the detection of many abnormalities in the first trimester
of pregnancy. Prenatal screening for fetal malformations
is mandatory, allowing a better pregnancy counseling and greatly improving the neonatal prognosis.
According to the Romanian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SOGR), the evaluation of the fetal heart starting from the first trimester of pregnancy is mandatory. Due to technological advances, the fetal heart can be assessed in detail as early as the first
trimester, which allows for adequate counseling of the couple
facing a malformative heart pathology in their fetus, allows
the termination of pregnancy at a legally optimal gestational
age, or, when the ultrasound assessment does not reveal any
fetal malformation, it assures the couple about the normal
course of the pregnancy. The evaluation of the fetal heart
using standard plans of examination is performed in each trimester
of pregnancy. We present a series of cardiac malformations
detected antenatally in our clinic, using standard
assessment views. The purpose of this study is to emphasize
that most lesions involving the ejection tracts of the arteries
at the base of the heart are associated with varying degrees
of disruption of the alignment, arrangement, size, or number
of the three vessels, thus with an abnormal appearance
of the standard cross-section of three vessels. In all cases, the
three-vessel view of the heart revealed an abnormal appearance,
helping us to diagnose major cardiac malformations. This plan can be easily obtained in all trimesters of pregnancy, providing sufficient information to detect many major conotruncal malformations. Cuvinte cheie: 3VT view, 3VV, fetal heart anomalies, conotruncal anomalies.