FETAL UROLOGY AND PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS: CURRENT THEMES

Abstract

Isolated case reports of the prenatal detection of urinary tract malformations first appeared in the literature in the late 1970s and by the mid 1980s prenatal diagnosis had already become a firmly established feature of paediatric urological practice throughout the developed world. The rapid development of prenatal diagnosis of urinary tract malformations can be attributed to the relatively high incidence of congenital anomalies within this system and the fact that the common anomalies are usually associated with dilatation or cystic pathology which is readily visualised by ultrasound. Although many aspects of prenatal diagnosis have been clarified by studies undertaken over the last twenty years some important questions have yet to be fully resolved – for example the long term natural history of asymptomatic uropathies such as pelvi ureteric obstruction and the benefit (if any) of prenatal diagnosis in reducing long term burden of chronic renal failure associated with posterior urethral valves.