FETAL CHOLECYSTOMEGALY - A PRENATAL MARKER OF ANEUPLOIDY

The fetal gall bladder can now be easily identified during the second and third trimesters using high-resolution ultrasonography. In this re port we present eight fetuses with an enlarged gall bladder detected o n prenatal ultrasonography at a mean gestational age of 24.6 weeks (ra nge 19-31 weeks). Additional ultrasonographic findings were present in four cases: fetal anomalies and intrauterine growth retardation in th ree and polyhydramnios in one. Of those cases associated with fetal an omalies, one woman underwent amniocentesis at 21 weeks revealing triso my 18. The other two declined prenatal karyotyping; neonatal karyotypi ng revealed trisomy 13 in one and trisomy 18 in the other. Although an enlarged fetal gall bladder can be a normal variant in the second and third trimesters, the prenatal detection of cholecystomegaly should p rompt a search for associated anomalies and other markers of aneuploid y. If found, prenatal karyotyping should be considered.