Metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the development of the metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation.

METHODS

Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound was used to measure the height and gap between the frontal bones in 200 normal fetuses and in nine fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 (median, 12) weeks of gestation.

RESULTS

In the 200 normal fetuses, the height of the frontal bones increased significantly with gestation from a mean of 2.5 mm (5(th) and 95(th) centiles: 1.9 mm and 3.3 mm) at 11 weeks to 6.1 mm (5(th) and 95(th) centiles: 4.6 mm and 8.1 mm) at 13 + 6 weeks. The gap between the two frontal bones did not change significantly with gestation (mean: 1.5 mm; 5(th) centile: 1.0 mm; 95(th) centile: 2.0 mm). In fetuses with holoprosencephaly, the height of the frontal bones was significantly larger (mean difference, 5.6 SDs; range, 3.9-7.7 SDs; P < 0.0001) and the gap was significantly smaller (mean 0.2 mm, range 0-0.8 mm; P < 0.0001) than those in normal fetuses.

CONCLUSIONS

Holoprosencephaly is associated with an accelerated development of the frontal bones and premature closure of the metopic suture.