MRI for Definitive In Utero Diagnosis of Cleft Palate: A Useful Adjunct to Antenatal Care?

Abstract

Fetal MRI enables us to predict accurately the extent of a cleft palate after an ultrasound diagnosis of cleft lip. With more accurate diagnosis of the severity of the cleft, we can counsel patients more precisely and plan postnatal management correctly.

Accurate diagnosis of fetal cleft lip/palate by typical signs of magnetic resonance imaging

“…However, the accuracy of US in the present study was higher than in previous studies. In those, MRI had obvious advantages over US . Interestingly, Dabadie et al reported that the US and MRI results were consistent in 91% of cases.…”

Fetal MRI as a complement to US in the evaluation of cleft lip and palate

“…In terms of the technique, the limitations include diffi culty in visualising skeletal components and fetal movement. Although echoplanar imaging sequences have been proposed for studying skeletal structures, in our study, they were unable to provide additional informa- [28][29][30].…”

“…These advantages therefore enable better treatment planning in the setting of multidisciplinary patient management [28][29][30].…”

Cleft lip

“…8 In high-risk populations (i.e. 10 9 Antenatal MRI offers no particular advantage over ultrasound for the diagnosis of cleft lip, but has significant potential in improving the diagnosis of isolated cleft palate.…”

“…10 The total lip height (a) and greater lip height (b) are measured from points just above the cutaneous roll (the supra-white roll point) at the bow peaks to the height of the ipsilateral philtral column in the lip-columellar crease. The base width of the inferior triangle (c) can then be calculated.…”