PRENATAL-DIAGNOSIS OF PERSISTENT RIGHT UMBILICAL VEIN

A persistent right umbilical vein is thought to be a rare anomaly, fre quently associated with other life-threatening malformations. Eight ca ses of prenatal diagnosis of persistent right umbilical vein are prese nted. All cases were discovered on a routine second-trimester sonogram in an unselected population. Of the seven babies who were delivered o ne had a dextrocardia and right-sided descending aorta, but none had o ther associated major malformations. The outcome was favorable in all cases and all seven infants are well and thriving with up to a year an d a half of follow-tip. Our findings suggest that persistent right umb ilical vein might not be as rare as the paucity of reports in the lite rature implies. Provided that no other malformations are present, this anomaly is probably of little prognostic significance, requiring no f urther evaluation or follow-tie.