Special forms in twin pregnancy - ACARDIAC TWIN/ Twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence

Twin pregnancy generally represents a high-risk pregnancy, but monozygous twin pregnancy is a real challenge for the obstetrician due to the serious complications that may occur during its evolution. A very rare, severe complication of monozygous twin pregnancy, which we recently dealt with in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, was a monochorionic monoamniotic twin pregnancy with acardiac twin (TRAP). One of the fetuses (acardiac twin) presented a rudimentary unfunctional heart or even no heart at all, underdeveloped inferior part of the body and head, being transfused by the other fetus with a normal heart (pumping twin) by one superficial arterio-arterial anastomosis through which blood pumped backwards. The understanding of these cases is mandatory in order to offer maximum survival and heath chances to the viable fetus.

RFA = radiofrequency ablation, TRAP = reversed arterial perfusion.