Fetal MRI Scan Experiences?

[lionmummy]

My 20 week scan has shown up a possible brain abnormality in the cerebella vermis. I have been referred for an MRI at the Hammersmith hospital in early June...very scary & wondered if anyone had gone through something similar, not really sure what to expect here at all? I had a mmc at 18 weeks last year so all very stressful AGAIN! I have 2 lovely dcs so realise that I am very fortunate in many ways but all the same am desperate to find out whether there is something wrong or not & if so, what to do next?

I've a couple of MRI's, but not when pregnant. I'm a bit claustrophobic which didn't help - it's like being in an open ended tunnel with the top bit a few inches from your nose.

It helps if the people doing the scan talk to you throughout as the machine makes sounds like a broken space invaders game. Sometimes they do offer music or ear plugs. If they're not able to talk to you much (which they might not, depending on the scan), do accept the offer as it will help distract you from the noise. I didn't and regretted it.

Thanks Karen, did it take very long in the tunnel?

Hi I had a fetal MRI also for fetal brain abnormalities. It took about 40 mins.. The worst thing about being pregnant in the MRI is the size of you vs the size of the tunnel! I was 36 weeks when i had mine done and it was bloody uncomfortable and noisy ( they give you head phones but its not great!) It is well worth doing as even tho they cannot remove artifact from bub moving the pictures are far far better than us. For me the hardest part was lying still on my back for so long late in pg.. yours sounds earlier so fingers crossed it wont be as uncomfortable. I also had to wait for results which seemed a very long time! ( probably only a week but that late on a week is a long time!)

thanks Chloeb, I'm 25 weeks so lying on my back is definitely still bearable. I wasn't sure how long it would take to get the results so this is helpful.

Hi, I found this original post as we are going through exactly the same thing. Our 20 week scan suggested partial development of the cerebellum vermis with an initial diagnosis of Dandy Walker Malformation. I am hoping to have an MRI scan next week.

I don't suppose you could tell me what happened in the end with your experience. We are just praying there was some mistake with the US.

Hi Kelly, I had a fetal MRI 5 years ago when I was about 23 weeks pregnant with my twin boys. On the 20 week scan drs were unable to see the corpus callossum on the boys, plus they had enlarged ventricles in the brain. We were sent off to the FMC for more ultrasound scans which thankfully found the brains were both normal apart from the ventricles. I had an MRI which confirmed this as well. Long story short, the boys were both fine and were born full term with slightly enlarged ventricles which were measuring within normal ranges by 6 weeks old. Please go for your MRI and get more ultrasounds as they don't always see things first time. Wishing you all the best.

Kelly, I had exactly the same experience as you at my 20 week scan, 5 years ago.

Diagnosed dandy walker malformation, on US and also on two MRI scans whilst I was stil pregnant.

My daughter was born full term, and apart from being a little late to walk and run etc is absolutely fine.

I, from what I understand they over diagnose dandy walker, as a result of more in depth US scans.

We were devastated after my scan but after MRI chose to have an amniocentesis , all was fine, thankfully.

I guess what my rambling a are saying, is that even if the MRI shows the same as the ultrasound, it can be ok. I know my story is one I've heard from quite a few people in the same position.

Thank you so much for responding.
It is such a worrying time and it's so hard having no idea what the outcome will be. The doctors have been brilliant and we feel really lucky about that, but they can't tell us what they don't know! At the moment, we have no idea if the baby will be born completely normal, or severely handicapped.
We just have to sit tight and hope for more information from the amniocentesis, MRI and neurosurgeon.

Kelly good luck with MRI and whatever news follows. My DD 7 was diagnosed as having fused cerebral hemispheres and completely absent vermis at 20 wk scan. She has been slow to develop but is doing fine and coping well with life. It was possible dandy walker syndrome but as hemispheres are fused this isn't the case