Prenatal Diagnosis of Acardiac Parabotic Twinning

Abstract

An acardiac parabiotic fetus is a rare anomaly that occurs almost exclusively in twin gestations. Although extremely rare, this phenomenon also has been reported in singleton gestations in association with an intra-amniotic tumor. It occurs when there is shunting of blood through arterial-to-arterial and venous-to venous anastomoses within the placenta.This anomaly is characterized by a severely malformed fetus, severe hydrops, absent heart, and abnormalities of the extremities. The authors present a case report of an acardiac parabiotic twin diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound.