Sonographic manifestation and Doppler blood flow study in fetal triploidy syndrome: Report of two cases

Triploidy is found in 1% of all conceptuses and accounts for 20% of the chromosomal abnormalities identified in spontaneous abortuses. The majority of these pregnancies abort spontaneously during the first trimester. Second or third trimester stillbirth also is common, and the neonatal prevalence of triploidy is 1:2500 to 1:10,000 live births. Triploidy is not compatible with long-term survival, and affected liveborn infants usually die within a few days of delivery. Recently, attention has been given to the antepartum diagnosis of those fetuses with triploidy who survive past the first trimester. Proposed diagnostic modalities include maternal serum AFP values and ultrasonography. Although triploidy can be associated with numerous anomalies, such as early IUGR, cephalocorporal disproportion, and oligohydramnios, no one anomaly can be seen on ultrasonography that is pathognomonic. We report second trimester sonographic findings and Doppler flow velocity waveforms in two cases of triploidy. The results are compared with previously published findings, and the significance of the Doppler waveform changes is discussed.