Prenatal Diagnosis of a Furcate Placenta
Bruce Cohen1, Monika Wilson, Austin Cohen
1St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts; and the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC.
Background:
A furcate placental cord insertion is rare and potentially dangerous. Prenatal diagnosis of this finding has been reported on only two prior occasions.
Case:
We present the case of a 33-year-old patient who, at 35 weeks of gestation, was suspected on ultrasonography to have a cord insertion that was both furcate and velamentous. Because of this finding, the patient underwent labor induction at 37 weeks of gestation and delivered a vigorous neonate vaginally. Pathologic evaluation confirmed furcate placenta.
Conclusion:
The identification of a furcate placenta, a potentially lethal umbilical cord insertion site abnormality, is possible prenatally. Future research should elucidate the prevalence of furcate cord insertions as well as whether they impose increased fetal risk.
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