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Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) is a rare malformation. We describe a case of PAPVC, in which the left pulmonary veins coursed to the left innominate vein through a vertical vein and finally drained into the right superior vena cava; the right pulmonary veins were connected to the left atrium. Tracing the origin and destination of abnormal vessels presented at the three‐vessel and trachea view is useful for the diagnosis. Four‐dimensional echocardiography with high‐definition flow imaging and spatiotemporal image correlation facilitates the identification of the drainage of fetal pulmonary veins, which should be considered as a complementary modality in obstetric ultrasonic examination when cardiac abnormalities are suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identification of prenatal ventriculoarterial connections in fetuses with conotruncal anomalies (CTA) remains one of the greatest challenges for sonographers performing screening examinations. Herein, we propose a novel protocol of 4D volume analysis that identifies ventriculoarterial connections and evaluate its clinical utility in routine screenings.Methods: Twenty-nine cases of transposition of the great arteries (TGA), 22 cases of double-outlet right ventricle (DORV), 36 cases of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), 14 cases of truncus arteriosus (TCA), and randomly selected 70 normal fetuses were reviewed in this study. All cases were evaluated using 2D data alone (2D method), post-processing volumes with no exact algorithm (4D-1 method), or with the proposed algorithm (4D-2 method), or using the 2D and 4D data together (combined method). Comparisons were made to evaluate the detection rate of ventriculoarterial connections for these different methods.Results: During 18-28 gestational weeks, the detection rate of 4D-2 modality was satisfactory. The detection rate of the combined method was significantly higher than 2D method in the identification of TGA, TOF, and TCA. The detection rate of 4D-1 method was significantly lower than 4D -2 modality for CTA fetuses. During late pregnancy, the detection rate for both 4D modalities was very low due to the poor quality of the 4D volumes.Conclusions: We proposed a detailed protocol, which allowed the examiner to identify fetal ventriculoarterial connections by 4D volumes. Inclusion of blood information into the volumes improved diagnosis. Our findings suggest that the incorporation of 4D STIC into routine screenings could improve the detection for TGA, TOF, and TCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absent pulmonary valve syndrome (APVS) is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly characterized by hypoplastic or even absent pulmonary valve, to‐and‐fro flow across the pulmonary valve annulus, and dilatation of main pulmonary artery and branches. It is crucial to evaluate the degree of dilatation of pulmonary arteries and the presence of associated malformation and chromosomal anomalies affecting pregnancy decision. We described two‐ and three‐dimensional (3D) echocardiographic findings of one fetus with APVS and indicated the beneficial contribution of 3D technology in understanding the anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]