Pantaleo Greco, Antonella Vimercati, Stefano Bettocchi, Giuseppe Loverro, Luigi Selvaggi
Endoscopic examination of the fetus in early pregnancy
Objective: To assess if fetal examination is feasible by
endoscopy in the late first-early second trimester.
Setting: Tertiary referral center for high risk obstetrics
and genetics.
Patients and Methods: Patients (total number 9) submitted
to pregnancy termination for social reason (7) or for chromosomal abnormality (2) between 10 and 14
weeks of pregnancy. Visualisation of the foetus by a transabdominally introduced endoscope (19 gauge) under local anaesthesia. Step by step examination of the foetal contour and double check of the recordings by a senior Pathologist.
Results: Patients complained no serious discomfort. Visualisation
was accomplished in all cases with ease and the images were judged satisfactory by the Pathologist.
Fetal examination was found easier at 10–12 weeks of gestation rather than at 13–14 weeks.
Discussion: Endoscopy is a simple and well tolerated
procedure, which enables precise visualization of external fetal anatomy as early as the first trimester of gestation.
Therefore it can be proposed before surgical termination
of pregnancy.
Journal of Perinatal Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1619-3997
Volume: 28, 01/2000
Pages: 34 - 38
Show full article (external site)
Show all available items of this journal
Search
