Craniofacial Inclination at 14 to 39 Weeks' Gestation in Normal Korean Fetuses

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate a normal range for prenatal craniofacial inclination using images of fetal profiles at 14 to 39 weeks' gestation in normal Korean fetuses. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional study of 308 normal fetuses at 14 to 39 weeks' gestation. After the exclusion of images with inadequate quality, the sagittal plane of the sonographic fetal facial profile from 250 normal fetuses was evaluated. The frontomaxillary facial, frontonasal, maxilla‐nasion‐mandibular, and mandibulomaxillary facial angles were measured and are presented according to gestational age. Results The overall mean frontomaxillary facial angle ± SD was 86.0° ± 7.6° between 14 weeks 6 days' and 39 weeks 2 days' gestation without a significant association between the frontomaxillary facial angle and gestational week. The overall mean frontonasal, maxilla‐nasion‐mandibular, and mandibulomaxillary facial angles were 125.8° ± 7.2°, 4.7° ± 3.3°, and 83.2° ± 8.5° between 14 weeks and 39 weeks 6 days. There was a significant linear correlation between gestational age and the frontonasal angle (r = −0.1534; P = .0187; y = −0.188 × gestational age + 130.7), maxilla‐nasion‐mandibular angle (r = −0.2773; P < .0001; y = −0.160 × gestational age + 9.0), and mandibulo‐maxillary facial angle (r = −0.2861; P < .0001; y = −0.432 × gestational age + 94.6). Conclusions We provide preliminary normative data for fetal facial angles related to craniofacial inclination across gestational ages in normal Korean fetuses. These data may be of help not only for the understanding of normal facial growth in utero but also for diagnosis of abnormal fetal facial dimensions.

Objective assessment of the fetal facial profile at second and third trimester of pregnancy

“…Both studies have shown that the MNMA is gestational‐age independent, which is its potential advantage over the assessment of FMA and FNMA. However, surprisingly, MNMA measured in normal Korean fetuses from 14 to 39 weeks' gestation was far smaller, with mean only 4.7 ○ ( SD 3.3 ○ ). A significant negative correlation of MNMA with gestational age was also demonstrated in their study.…”

Nasolabial Dimensions of the Facial Profile at 20 to 37 Weeks' Gestation on 2- and 3-Dimensional Sonography in Normal Korean Fetuses

“…Previous studies showed that normal reference values of the fetal nasal bone length in Asian populations were shorter than those of white and African American popula‐tions 12 , 24 , 26 . In our previous study about craniofacial inclination during gestation, we showed that the frontomaxillary facial angles of Korean fetuses were greater than the angles of other ethnic fetuses between 14 and 25 weeks' gestation 28 . In addition, in another study dealing with frontomaxillary facial angles in Korean fetuses at the 11 weeks' to 13 weeks 6 days' gestation, it was reported that the overall mean frontomaxillary facial angles were greater than those of other ethnicities 27 .…”

“…Recently, we showed the craniofacial inclination of the fetal facial profile in normal Korean fetuses 28 . The aim of this study was to describe the normative sonographic appearance of the fetal facial profile in the exact midsagittal plane by 2D or 3D multiplanar sonography, with particular regard to the nasolabial size by evaluating nose length, nose protrusion, pronasal‐subnasal distance, distance between the upper philtrum and mouth, and distance between the tip of the nose and mouth in normal Korean fetuses during gestation.…”

Ultrasonographic Study of Fetal Facial Profile Markers During First Trimester

“…On the other hand, 2D ultrasound was the basis of 3D ultrasound. 2D measurements were reported to be the same reliable and accurate as 3D measurements in the measurement of facial marker [27,28] .…”