A Case of Varix of the Fetal Intra-Abdominal Umbilical Vein and Review of the Literature.

Kim, Myoung Chan; Chay, Doo Byoung; Lee, Sang Eun; Kim, Jong Seok; Lee, Yoon Ho

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2002;45(7):1226-1228.
Published online July 1, 2002.

A Case of Varix of the Fetal Intra-Abdominal Umbilical Vein and Review of the Literature.

Myoung Chan Kim, Doo Byoung Chay, Sang Eun Lee, Jong Seok Kim, Yoon Ho Lee

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Andong General Hospital, Andong, Korea.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yongdong Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Varix of the intraabdominal portion of the fetal umbilical vein is a rare entity. We present a case of varix of the intrafetal umbilical vein diagnosed by routine prenatal ultrasonography at 35 weeks of gestation. Color Doppler examination of the abnormal umbilical vein demonstrated turbulent flow through 23-mm diameter cystic dilatation of the fetal intra-abdominal umbilical vein consistent with a varix. No other sonographic abnormalities were detected, and a healthy infant was delivered at term.

Key Words: Umbilical vein varix, Prenatal ultrasonography, Color Doppler