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Updated: May 1, 2026

Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Fetal demise due to cord entanglement in the early second trimester
Rahime Nida Ergin1, Murat Yayla1, Ayse Seda Ergin1
1Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey (R. Ergin); the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, International Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey (Yayla); and the Department of Radiology, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey (A. Ergin).
In this report, we describe a rare cause of in utero fetal death, a complex entanglement of the umbilical cord around the fetal neck. At the 16th gestational week of pregnancy, routine fetal ultrasonography showed no fetal heartbeat. Thereafter, the fetus was delivered vaginally in the breech presentation. The neck was found to be encircled by multiple tight loops of the umbilical cord. Other than a thin and elongated neck, there were no dysmorphic features and no chromosomal abnormality on cytogenetic analysis.
In this report, we describe a rare cause of in utero fetal death, a complex entanglement of the umbilical cord around the fetal neck. At the 16th gestational week of pregnancy, routine fetal ultrasonography showed no fetal heartbeat. Thereafter, the fetus was delivered vaginally in the breech presentation. The neck was found to be encircled by multiple tight loops of the umbilical cord. Other than a thin and elongated neck, there were no dysmorphic features and no chromosomal abnormality on cytogenetic analysis.
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