PRENATAL-DIAGNOSIS OF DUCTUS VENOSUS AGENESIS - A REPORT OF 2 CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Anomalies of venous return due to absence of the ductus venosus have b een described in the literature. This is a report of the prenatal diag nosis of two cases of isolated ductus venosus agenesis occurring at 20 and 37 weeks' gestation, confirmed postnatally by color-coded Doppler sonography. In both cases the hepatic veins assumed the function of t he ductus venosus without compromising fetal hemodynamics or causing h ydrops. In the first case, a healthy female infant was delivered at te rm. In the second case, a 46,XY,dup(8) (q21.1q22)[35]/47,idem,+r(8)[15 ] karyotype was diagnosed by amniocentesis. The male newborn showed fa cial anomalies, a bell-shaped thorax and increased intermamillary dist ance. There was muscular hypotonia, delayed psychomotor development an d an inspiratory stridor leading to obstructive nocturnal dyspnea. On the basis of our observations in these two cases and previous reports from animal studies, we conclude that absence of the ductus venosus ma y be compatible with normal fetal development without relevant disturb ance of circulation and oxygenation.