AMPLITUDE-BASED COLOR DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY OF FETUS WITH SACROCOCCYGEALTERATOMA

Amplitude-based color Doppler sonography (a-CDS), also known as power Doppler sonography, is a new FDA-approved color Doppler technique for the assessment of blood flow. It is based on evaluation of the Doppler power spectral density, which is the expression of the amount of ener gy of ultrasonic waves reflected by scatterers, such as moving red blo od cells. Display of the power spectrum, therefore, corresponds to the degree of tissue blood flow in a particular region of interest.(1) We report a case of a fetus with a sacrococcygeal teratoma whose extensi ve vascularity was clearly demonstrated by a-CDS but not by frequency- based color Doppler sonography (f-CDS). Clinical management was substa ntially changed by the unexpected information provided by a-CDS.