Discrimination of fetal intracranial mass and hemorrhage via superb microvascular imaging in a case and review of literature

Abstract

In this case we aimed to present use of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in the discrimination of fetal intracranial mass- haemorrhage with the light of literature.
 21 weeks pregnancy woman applied to the clinic for routine obstetrics control. Ultrasonography (US) was applied to the patient. In the gray scale US, intracranial midline a large mass was detected. In the colour doppler (CD), the blood flow (BF) to the mass was not clearly seem. Power doppler (PD) was very artifact. In color SMI (cSMI) and monochrome SMI (mSMI), blood flow (BF) of the mass was seem clearly and fetal intracranial mass was prediagnosed. Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to determine the location of the mass, brain parenchyma and origin of the mass. Intracranial midline a large mass was detected in fetal MRI too.
 Although there are cases in the literature regarding the use of SMI in obstetrics, there is no case report in which fetal intracranial mass was evaluated by SMI to our knowledge. In our case; we have detected fetal intracranial mass by gray scale US, and we have evaluated vascularization of the mass by CD, PD, cSMI and mSMI. SMI modes were showing superiority when compared to CD and PD. Vascularization could be seen more clearly by mSMI when compared to cSMI.