Prenatal diagnosis and clinicopathologic examination of a case with diastematomyelia

• Published in: Congenital anomalies Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 163 - 165
• Main Authors: Turgal, Mert, Ozyuncu, Ozgur, Talim, Beril, Yazicioglu, Aslihan, Onderoglu, Lutfu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2013
• Subjects: Adult; Autopsy; diastematomyelia; Female; fetal magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neural Tube Defects - diagnosis; pathology; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis; Spinal Cord - pathology; ultrasonography; Ultrasonography, Prenatal; diastematomyelia; pathology; prenatal diagnosis; ultrasonography; fetal magnetic resonance imaging
• ISSN: 0914-3505; 1741-4520
• DOI: 10.1111/cga.12008

Diastematomyelia is a rare form of spinal dysraphism. Here the spinal cord was split into two with a bony or cartilaginous spur, resulting in formation of two hemicords. The prenatal diagnosis of diastematomyelia is possible with ultrasonography. The unique finding is the appearance of echogenic focus within the spinal canal. This condition may not have any clinical sign during prenatal and early years of life but as the child grows, serious neurologic manifestations may occur, commonly termed the “tethered cord syndrome”. Here, we report a case of diastematomyelia in which a careful antenatal imaging was performed and postnatal pathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis.