Fetal urinary tract abnormalities detected on maternal ultrasound

Twenty-one cases of fetal urinary tract abnormalities were detected on maternal ultrasound in a 5 year period. Six fetuses died and 13 of the 15 surviving cases have had corrective urological surgery, usually during the neonatal period. Maternal ultrasound provides advanced warning of major urinary tract abnormalities in the newborn. Therefore, appropriate investigations and medical management can be instituted early and potentially destructive urological lesions can be corrected as soon as possible. As yet, antenatal intervention does not seem to be warranted as the most common cause of bilateral upper tract dilatation in the surviving cases in this series was primary reflux, and in the cases that died the urinary abnormalities were not salvagable.