Ventriculomegaly

[snowydayz]

Hello, just moving over here from another forum as this seems the right place to post.

Last week at an elective 27 week scan they picked up that my baby has isolated unilateral borderline ventriculomegaly. The measurement was 9.6mm but then at a scan with the hospital consultant a few days later he got 10.4mm. My TORCH screen came back negative for infection in this pregnancy which is something.

Feeling very worried and anxious as I wait for the next scan to see whether this has progressed.

Has anyone had this experience, particularly where nothing was picked up at the 20 week anomaly scan but presents itself later in the pregnancy? We are based in London. Thanks.

I had this at an extra 24 week scan and in the end they shrunk back down. The consultant did say this happens more in one gender than the other, in the end we did find another condition on the scan but it wasn't link to one another iyswim

Thanks Lois, really hoping our results shrink also. The wait between scans is so hard!

We were referred to fetal medicine after the first scan and each scan they were shrinking. Started at 10.1 and in the end with the normal range. They also said it seemed to appear in one sex more than another. I'm being vague here as I do t know if you know the gender.

Thanks for being vague but both consultants pretty much gave the gender away in all our discussions about it which is a bit of a shame because we wanted a surprise and it was a surprise until then. : )

We had tthis with my first, apparently it was more common in girls than boys. We attended kings ever weekfrom 24 weeks to see the amount of growth. They were straight with us though and did infom us that if it continued to grow we would be offered a termination at 30 weeks. Luckily it stopped but we had an ultrasou d on the babys head at 8 weeks at the local hosp and a cat scan i think it was. I will say it affected my bonding massivly until the all clear st 8 weeks.prior tothat ijust wdnt through the motions.i do bope you are ok and please kdep us updated as kts amassivly hard thing to go though.

Thanks, yes I know how you must have felt. I feel like I've stopped enjoying the pregnancy and quickly change the subject if anyone talks to me about it. As you say, just going through the motions and trying not to think of the worst case scenario.

I was actually told it was more common in boys than girls. Did you have a girl in the end? What were the measurements you had?

I was told boys too!

Nope defo told girls! :) . The growthhad stopped by 30 weeks he had it in his back right rear lobe (quarter, what ever they divide the brain up into. ) yes he was a boy.
They told me that yes it had stopped growing and had settled at the last 3 scan but could not confirm to me that it would all be rosie. They just explained that in all probability it would be fine, that it some shit to take! I carried on as you know but really just fed, cuddles nappy changed i couldnt say it was love at first sight more a rush of love at the 8/9 week mark after the ok, sad to say but true. I cant remember the measurments but considerable enlargement. He is 7 now and fine.
On the othe hand had itgrown and kept growing on my part there was no decision but i would have terminated. They told me he would be severly disabled, unable to talketc and his compatibility with life would be awful and personally i couldnt deal with that not fair on him and not fair on me. Some would disagreebut its not a debate.

We were 0.1 mm over the cut off with my DS and I wasn't told too much as it was decreasing all the time. Although unfortunately they did find another health problem but he's a lively and happy 4 year old

Lois, was the other health issue unrelated do you think? Great to hear he is healthy and happy!

It's hard to explain but the other health issue can cause/ be associated with it. Although both of these can point to certain disorders. Ds has been tested for any chromosomes disorders and that seems to be clear. My consulting also said sometimes it can be a high glow of blood at the time of the scan and that it is just a snap shot rather than it be consistently enlarged. In a way although stressful I'm glad we had the extra scan as it pointed out the other health condition and maybe I said dramatic but it probably saved his life. So for me a silver lining and all that, keep positive.

How are you op?

Thanks Pancakes, am OK, just keeping busy until the scan next week and trying to think positively that it will turn out OK. I have low moments too tho when I worry about how the future will look if it turns out to be the worst case. Thanks for checking in and I will update next week.

How was the scan op? Pm me if you need a vent!!

Hi op, hope you are ok.
I have twin boys who had mild ventriculomegaly diagnosed at 20 week scan. Was measuring 12-13mm at the time. We were referred to fetal medicine centre for further scans and mri throughout the rest of the pregnancy.
In our case the mri showed normal brain development apart from the dilated ventricles which measured 11-12mm at about 24 weeks.
I had the torch screening too which all came back negative.
As time went on the ventricle size reduced slightly more. The boys were born healthy at 37.5 weeks by elcs.
Post natal scans at 2 days old and 6 weeks old showed no problems at all. They have grown up to be healthy strong boys who are now nearly 7.
Wishing you all the best x

Thanks Pancakes and MrsStarwars for sharing your story, this is all encouraging. I just returned from the follow up scan (those last three weeks couldn't have felt any longer!) and the measurement was 9.8 (or 9.6mm?) which is great and I was pleased it had dropped slightly under 10. The consultant said it was still borderline but he felt just a 'normal variant'. They will keep an eye on it and scan me again at 36/37 weeks and then an ultrasound on baby's brain when it is born, but overall good news I think.

I will have a second scan next week with the FMC and they may recommend an MRI.

MrsStarwars - did you even notice anything developmentally when your boys were younger that was different to what you would expect? Anything I should keep an eye on? Thank you.

Hi snowy, that all sounds very positive. Encouraging news that the measurements are less than before.
It sounds like your consultant and FMC are doing all the right things and will keep monitoring you. Hopefully this will help put your mind at rest.
Even 7 years later I remember how stressful and traumatic it was for our family. It was a difficult time but try and focus on the positive news and look forward to your lovely new baby.
Developmentally my boys were completely fine, feeding well, growing and hitting all the milestones. They were probably slightly later with speech, but I think that was more of a twin thing and they certainly make up for it now!
They were monitored by a paediatrician at our local hospital for the first year, but was discharged at 12 months as everything was ok.
Keep us updated with how you get on.

Thanks MrsStarwars. It really helps when others share their stories as it can all feel very scary and isolating, esp when you don't share the news widely (we have only told a couple of people). I must remember to do the same post-baby to help others who are feeling this way. Glad to hear your boys are doing so well! All the best.

That sound encouraaging!!!! Good luck op its not pleasant and youwont be fine until the all clear just remember you are under the borderline so it looks like things have not grown. I would push for more scans though every other week not until 36/7 weeks or you really are not going to be abke to relax. Go private if need be. Xxx wishing you the best.
Pancakes