Perinatal three-dimensional color power Doppler ultrasonography of vein of Galen aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE

To present the prenatal and postnatal three-dimensional color power Doppler ultrasonographic features in cases of vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation.

METHODS

Prenatal three-dimensional color power Doppler ultrasonography was used to image the neurovascular malformations in 3 fetuses with vein of Galen aneurysms and in unaffected control fetuses at the same gestational age. Postnatal transfontanel three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasonography was also performed in the third affected case and in an unaffected control neonate. The feeding and drainage vessels were analyzed in the three-dimensional rendering mode.

RESULTS

The first case was complicated by porencephaly and fetal heart failure, and the pregnancy was terminated. The other 2 cases were uncomplicated prenatally, but 1 of the infants died after aneurysmal embolization due to acute cerebral ischemia. The angioarchitecture of the arteriovenous fistula was characterized in greater detail by three-dimensional color power Doppler ultrasonography than by two-dimensional ultrasonography, especially regarding the anatomic features of the feeding and drainage vessels and their connections with the dilated vein of Galen.

CONCLUSIONS

Three-dimensional color power Doppler ultrasonography provided detailed images of the aneurysmal malformation and its vascular connections. Further studies are needed to correlate three-dimensional vascular imaging patterns with outcome.