Prenatal diagnosis of diastematomyelia by ultrasound and review of the literature
脊髓纵裂产前超声诊断并文献回顾

Objective To investigate the prenatal ultrasonic manifestations of diastematomyelia. Methods A fetus was identified as diastematomyelia after took detailed antenatal ultrasound examination for Suspected intraspinal tumor. The prenatal ultrasonic manifestations of the abnormal spinal anatomy were com- pared with the features of the postnatal high-frequency ultrasound, X-ray, MRI and autopsy examinations. Twenty-five cases of diastematomyelia were reviewed and retrieved by PubMed system. Results In our case, the ultrasonic examination revealed a circular hyper-echogenic mass in the enlarged spinal canal, infe- rior fusion of two longitudinal divisions of the thoracic cord, and the widening ossification center at the T6-3~9 level. The chromosomal analysis on cord blood cell had normal karyotype, which was confirmed by postmor- tem X-ray, MRI and autopsy. Conclusion Diastematomyelia can be prenatally diagnosed due to the charac- teristic ultrasonic features.