Medical Physics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Medical Physics, including details on medicine, radiotherapy, biomechanics, medical imaging.

Sonographic prenatal diagnosis of malpositioned stomach as a feature of uncomplicated intestinal malrotation.

Cassart M, Massez A, Lingier P, Absil AS, Donner C, Avni F

Department of Medical Imaging, Erasme University Hospital, 808 Route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. mcassart@ulb.ac.be

Intestinal malrotation is a developmental anomaly affecting the position and peritoneal attachments of the small and large intestines during fetal life. Most often the diagnosis is established in the first year of life on the basis of abdominal pain and bile-stained vomiting secondary to bowel obstruction. The antenatal diagnosis can be suggested by identification of the complications such as bowel dilatation, ascites or meconium peritonitis. We describe two cases of isolated antenatal gastric malposition without any other associated anomaly that were confirmed after birth to be due to intestinal malrotation. We suggest that such an antenatal finding should alert the paediatrician to close clinical follow-up and prompt the diagnosis and surgical treatment in case of abdominal pain and/or bilious vomiting.

Published 14 March 2006 in Pediatr Radiol, 36(4): 358-60.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Medical Physics Research Today. All Rights Reserved.