Absent ‘superimposed‐line’ sign: novel marker in early diagnosis of cleft of fetal secondary palate

Abstract

What are the novel findings of this work? We describe a new sonographic sign, the 'superimposedline' sign, for evaluation of the fetal secondary palate in early gestation on two-dimensional imaging of the vomeromaxillary junction in the midsagittal view. What are the clinical implications of this work? Inclusion of this sign during the routine nuchal translucency scan should improve screening and early detection of secondary palatine clefts. This sign also facilitates evaluation of cleft extension into the secondary palate when a defect in the premaxilla is identified.

Re: Absent ‘superimposed‐line’ sign: novel marker in early diagnosis of cleft of fetal secondary palate

“…We present here the figures with PMD from the series of Lakshmy et al 1 . (Figure 1), indicating its correct measurement, and illustrate PMD assessment using an axial view (Figure 2a), showing the natural course of congenital cleft lip and palate 3 .…”

“…PMD should be measured as the shortest hyperechogenic distance between the ossified upper posterior palatine process and the anterior ossified portion of the We present here the figures with PMD from the series of Lakshmy et al 1 (Figure 1), indicating its correct measurement, and illustrate PMD assessment using an axial view (Figure 2a), showing the natural course of congenital cleft lip and palate 3 .…”

Visualisation of the fetal uvula on three‐dimensional ultrasonography

“…However, threedimensional US (3D-US) allows the visualisation of complex 3D shapes and hence can be used to visualise the fetal palate. 4,[7][8][9] Maarse et al confirmed that 3D-US demonstrated a higher detection rate of cleft palate than 2D-US. 10 3D-US images that can demonstrate real anatomical structures are reconstructed based on high-fidelity information.…”

Prospective ultrasound diagnosis of orofacial clefts in the first trimester

“…The mid-sagittal view of the palatal line and the coronal view of the RNT are most useful for the diagnosis of secondary CP. Lakshmy et al 4 described the absent 'superimposed-line' sign as a novel marker for the early diagnosis of secondary CP. In this study, the coronal view of the fetal lip was difficult to identify before 12 weeks of gestation.…”