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Cleft lip and palate are the most widespread orofacial malformations, being considered by the World Health Organization to be a relevant public health problem, afflicting 1 in 700-1000 newborns worldwide. The anomaly is characterized by the lack of continuity of the tissues that form the upper lip, the alveolar process, and the soft and hard palate. The severity varies from a small cleft lip to a complete cleft that extends to the palate, sometimes also to the nose and hearing apparatus. Because of their disturbing appearance in many cases, these malformations have attracted much attention in terms of treatment and patient management. The major impact of cleft lip and palate on physiognomy and functionality places this type of malformations in the category of major public health problems worldwide. Advances in fetal ultrasound and MRI have significantly increased the accuracy of diagnosing fetal abnormalities. Once a malformation is suspected, genetic tests can be performed to verify the results of the ultrasound and/or MRI examination. Ultrasound is widely used to diagnose clefts prenatally and, not surprisingly, 3D ultrasound is superior to 2D ultrasound in accurately detecting cleft lip. While ultrasound is excellent for assessing prenatal craniofacial morphology, visualizations can be limited by overlapping hard structures. As a result, MRI is increasingly being used to overcome this problem and to complement ultrasound. Using fetal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), there is the opportunity for diagnosis in utero, which will allow for the customization of care throughout pregnancy and then in the postnatal period throughout the child’s life. At the same time, patients with cleft lip and palate may have associated intracranial and extracranial anomalies and dentofacial deformities that represent the sequelae of the cleft, aspects for which the imaging examination provides extremely valuable information and has an impact on the optimal therapeutic management of children with such pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Placenta praevia (PP) is an obstetrical complication where the maturing placenta obstructs a part or all of the internal cervical os. Abnormal placenta invasion and development are associated with a spectrum of conditions rather than a single obstetric pathology. Objective. To review the ultrasound markers for placenta praevia in our experience and correlate the imagistic and histopathological findings. Methodology. This is a retrospective study including 259 patients admitted with the diagnosis of PP in the Obstetrics-Gynecology Clinic II of the County Emergency Clinical Hospital Craiova, Romania, between 2018 and 2023. Results. The most important ultrasound features associated with placenta praevia with accreta were loss of retroplacental hypoechoic area, presence of placental lacunae, presence of bladder wall discontinuity, placental bulge, exophytic mass, subplacental and/or uterovesical hypervascularity, placental lacunae feeder vessels, and bridging vessels. According to the degree of placental invasiveness, the histopathological evaluation showed disorganization of the uterine wall, myocytes anarchically distributed among the villi and decidual cells, neoformation vessels invading the myometrium, and these aspects were correlated with hyperadherence and significant antepartum and intrapartum bleeding. Conclusions. The aforementioned ultrasound features may put doctors on alert and, thus, dictate the appropriate therapeutic management to prevent complications that could endanger fetal or maternal life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evoluţia diagnosticului prenatal a adus modificări importante în evaluarea şi managementul hidronefrozei. Dacă soluţia clasică implică intervenţie chirurgicală corectoare plecând de la premisa că dilatarea pielică înseamnă obstrucţie, în prezent abordarea conservatoare este regula. Marea provocare este reprezentată în continuare de diferenţierea hidronefrozei clinic semnificative de cea tranzitorie şi alegerea căii optime de management al acestor cazuri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Fetal aortic coarctation still represents a challenge even for the best sonographers, especially in the early forms of appearence. Case presentation. A secundipara, with a previous healthy child, presents for the first assesement with a 32-week pregnancy. The ecography showed: IUGR of minus 3 weeks, a significant discrepancy between the right and left ventricule, fibroelastosis of the wall in right ventricule, and a suspicion of aortic coarctation. The aortic isthmal diameter was measured immediately proximal to the insertion of the arterial duct in the transverse (three vessel and trachea) and sagittal view, and the ductal diameter was measured immediately before it entered the descending aorta in the same view. Conclusions. The Z-scores for the fetal aortic isthmus and arterial duct are measured in the three vessels and trachea view and for the isthmus in the sagittal plane. In suspected coarctation, these Z-scores and the isthmal to ductal ratio may help in longitudinal assessment of the aortic arch and help at the prenatal diagnosis of coarctation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]