First‐trimester diagnosis of conjoined twins aided by spatiotemporal image correlation

Abstract

A case of conjoined twins after frozen embryo transfer at early blastocyst stage is described. The diagnosis was made early at 7 weeks by vaginal sonography and later confirmed by spatiotemporal image correlation with power Doppler. The value of spatiotemporal image correlation with Doppler in facilitating an early diagnosis of conjoined twinning is discussed.

Conjoined twins: From conception to separation, a review

“…With the aid of diagnostic imaging techniques, such as ultrasonography (US) and three‐dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D‐MRI), physicians are able to make prenatal diagnoses (Varma et al, ; Ohashi et al, ). In this way, physicians can plan in advance for any potential complications that may arise during delivery.…”

A case of conjoined twins after a transfer of a multinuclear embryo

“…To our knowledge, this is the first report of conjoined twins after a transfer of embryo with multinuclear blastomeres. In literature, sixteen cases [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] of conjoined twins after ART have been reported to date ( Table 1). Description of embryos transferred is included in only five case reports: thoracopagus twins are reported after a transfer of a 4-cell embryo with even-sized blastomeres and <10% fragmentation on day 2 [7], a transfer of three good quality 8-cell embryos on day 3 [8], a transfer of two blastocysts (early and 4BB) on day 5 [9] and 6-and 7-cell embryos on day 3 [10].…”

Prenatal diagnosis of omphalopagus conjoined twins with shared megacystis

“…Current US techniques (transvaginal approach) enable conjoined twins to be suspected as early as the seventh week of pregnancy . The characteristic US signs are the absence of a separating amniotic membrane, conjoined body parts, or a bifid appearance of the embryo/fetal pole .…”

“…Other findings are heads or bodies at the same level with persistent relative position of one fetus to the other, hyperextended spines, unusual proximity of the limbs, complex structural malformations, and a single umbilical cord with more than three vessels . Power Doppler US and high‐definition color Doppler US make it possible to investigate the shared vasculature . Three‐dimensional US and fetal MRI can complete the evaluation in cases of suboptimal two‐dimensional US examinations .…”