http://www.appliedradiology.com RSS Feed on Applied Radiologyhttp://www.appliedradiology.com//Issues/2010/12/Cases/Exencephaly.aspx<p>A 22-year-old G2P1 precipitously delivered a 37-week male infant at home. The infant was transferred to our tertiary care facility. The prenatal record was not available, but the patient’s mother gave a history of an abnormal prenatal ultrasound showing exencephaly. At diagnosis, the family was offered termination but declined. Admission examination demonstrated microcephaly with absence of the cranium above the orbital ridge with a large portion of neural tissue covered by dura protruding from the top of his head (Figure 1). Although computed tomography (CT) is not typically utilized to image this condition, it was requested immediately upon admission to better delineate the deformity, to determine prognosis, to guide clinical intervention (or withhold intervention) and to eventually assist in genetic counseling discussions (Figure 2). </p> <p>After a meeting among the family, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons and our ethics committee, the parents decided to provide palliative support. The patient expired after five days secondary to cardiac arrhythmia. Chromosomal analysis was normal. </p>Friday, 17 Dec 2010 16:27:26 GMT