Hill L M, Mills A, Peterson C, Boyles D
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.
Obstet Gynecol. 1994 Dec;84(6):923-5.
To review our experience with antenatal detection and subsequent neonatal outcome of fetuses with a persistent right umbilical vein.
In a prospective observational study, 33 cases of persistent right umbilical vein were detected during 15,237 obstetric ultrasound examinations performed after 15 weeks' gestation.
Persistent right umbilical vein was detected at a rate of one per 476 obstetric ultrasound examinations. Six of 33 (18.2%) fetuses with a persistent right umbilical vein had additional important congenital malformations.
Careful second- and third-trimester ultrasound examinations can detect a persistent right umbilical vein. When this particular anomaly is detected, a thorough fetal anatomic survey, including echocardiography, should be performed to rule out more serious congenital malformations.
