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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Had 20 week scan and they found bright spot by heart

27 replies

duvetwoman · 05/01/2008 17:29

Hi girls i am looking for a bit of advice. We had our 20 week scan the other day and were told there was a bright spot next to the heart which only measured small but was slightly pushing the heart to one side. The sonographers said they were unsure of what it could be so have referred us to the Fetal Medicine unit at a different hospital for a more thorough scan to identify what this bright dot is. Anyone experienced anything similar as i don't know what to think, our appointment is not till wednesday and i am imagining alsorts!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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constancereader · 05/01/2008 17:45

sorry don't have any advice but bumping for you.

Diege · 05/01/2008 18:07

Yes, I had this with dd3!! It showed up as a white spot and is apparently v.common (well, common as on they see 4 to 5 a week) Also v.common in adults when they are scanned, where it's seen as normal). My sonographer said it being next to the heart, rather than in/on wasn't especially worrying, although I did have to have a blood test to rule out an infection that can sometimes reveal itself in these white spots - CMV??. It came back neg,and had disappeared by next scan. No-one seemed especially concerned. Hope this puts your mind at rest a little. The sonographer did say that as the machines are getting more and more sensitive they are seeing more and more of this, and that in a few years time they will treat it as a normal variation (as they will renal dilation and choroid plexus cysts, etc). Of course I can't speak for your situation, but it does sound v.similar to what was seen on my scan. Good luck for next week, and don't worry!

flowerybeanbag · 05/01/2008 18:21

We had this with DS. I can't remember the technical name but he had what are called golfballs on his heart. Apparently they are so common and normal that normal scan people don't even mention, we only found out because we had all our scans including extra ones done by a consultant as there were separate reasons to be concerned.

We were referred for a Fetal Echo scan, where they take a more detailed look at the baby's heart, the consultant who did the scan explained it all so well, they are tiny abnormalities that usually disappear once the baby is bigger, but are so common.

That may well be what you have. So scary hearing anything to do with the heart though isn't it?

CaptainUnderpants · 05/01/2008 18:32

We had this with our 20 wk scan with our now very lively and healthy 5.5 yr old.

they said it was an ecogenic foci whoch is very common , howver they referred us to St Georges Fetal Medical unit for a more detailed scan - which was absoutely amazing !

They are very common adn I am surprised that they didn't know what it was.

Now dont worry about this bit , they said to us that it may be an indication of Downs but when we had the further scan they took measuremenst of all organs etc and ruled it out .

I can understand your concern but it is every common .

Article here

Diege · 05/01/2008 18:39

I think if it's outside/on the edge of the heart as in OP's case it's classed as a calcification, but not an echogenic foci of the heart?May be wrong, but I did grill the sonograopher about this (being a grade one internet doctor and she said they only classify as in captainundepants case if ON/ON the heart tissue .

Diege · 05/01/2008 18:39

Should read 'if IN/ON the heart tissue'.

Original poster

duvetwoman · 05/01/2008 19:09

wow girls you are so amazing thanku. Really feel alot more at ease, i am feeling alot more positive but obviously wishing wednesday would come quicker xx

OP posts:

mumofk · 05/01/2008 20:38

Just wanted to ask- was it a bright spot within the lung tissue- ie.outside the heart but in the chest (aka thorax)? As a sonographer I would not expect to see an echogenic foci (aka golfball, not unusual finding) related to the heart outside of the heart. It may be other places have different classifications of things that I'm not aware of, but it just sounds possibly a bit more lung related rather than heart. That would make me a lot more vague, as I don't know what that might be. Some causes aren't worrying, but unfortunately some things are and I wouldn't be able to say from one scan. Really hope you get some answers Wednesday, but just to warn you they may not be very sure then either, and might want to see how things develop. Good luck and try to stay calm- DO NOT GOOGLE- it won't help, I promise.
mumofk

Original poster

duvetwoman · 05/01/2008 20:47

MUMOFK, they didn't really say much, just that whatever it was was next to the heart and pushing it to one side slightly.

OP posts:

mumofk · 06/01/2008 13:21

Well, if its pushing the heart to one side, I would take that as something outside the heart. That leads me to possibly something in the lung, but as I've said I'm afraid I don't know what that'd be, sorry
Please let us know how Wednesday goes- I'll be thinking of you.
Good luck,
mumofk

Original poster

duvetwoman · 07/01/2008 09:50

thanks mumofk, will just have to wait and see, am praying it is something minor, not sure how i would react otherwise. I have already struggled with this pregnancy so far as my last one ended in m/c, so have been quite negative about this one. Wish things were as straight forward as with my first baby!

OP posts:

bluetopaz · 07/01/2008 12:18

Sorry I can't give any useful info on any bright spots outside the heart but I just had my 20 week scan and an echogenic focus, or golfball or bright spot was picked up in the heart. This is a deposit of calcium that shows up (less than 1mm in my case), normally in the left ventricle where the surface is quite rough and mostly goes away on its own by 40 weeks.

I have been reassured not to worry about this as 5% of normal babies have it, altho proportionately more of DS babies have it. No other markers or problems were seen so I am trying to forget about it but can't help fretting. I worry that altho all looks fine now something else may be detected in my next scans at 28 and 32 weeks that make the 'golf ball' become more significant.

Anyone else have problems with echogenic focus /foci? Sorry to jump on your thread Duvetwoman and I hope all goes well.

harleyd · 07/01/2008 12:25

yes i had this with ds2
i was told there was a bright spot, known as golfball/echogenic foci
was told that was some sort of marker which they use as an indicator for downs and a few other things, but that i had nothing to worry about as the baby had no other visible markers.
i googled it and scared the crap out of myself (and actualy ended up on this site as a result)
baby was born perfect, but i was still concerned and ranted and raved enough to them that they ended up giving me an appointment for a heart scan when he was a few weeks old. all was fine
apparently it is quite common to see these though

bluetopaz · 07/01/2008 12:52

thanks Harleyd. I like to hear stories like this! I will try and forget about it and hope for the best.

CaptainUnderpants · 07/01/2008 13:48

Duvet woman - hope all gopes well on Wednesday - please post to let us know

paulaplumpbottom · 07/01/2008 13:50

No advice but good luck next week!

MrsFlora · 07/01/2008 13:58

We were also diagnosed but she is fine and healthy.

Original poster

duvetwoman · 08/01/2008 14:29

thanks for your support girls, only one more day to wait!

OP posts:

Original poster

duvetwoman · 09/01/2008 16:34

Hi girls, had my follow up scan this morning and it was not great news. Baby has a rare lung disorder called Cystic-adenomatoid malformation. Basically two thirds of the right lung have not developed normally. I have to be scanned every 4 weeks to check no other problems related to this disorder occur. I also cannot have my baby at our local hospital as there is no neonatal unit there, so will have to travel 30 mins by car, not a major issue but there's my homebirth out the window! The baby stands a good chance if the condition doesn't worsen, but i am so scared. After suffering a m/c in the summer i am really starting to feel 'why me', but i know i shouldn't

OP posts:

HolidaysQueen · 09/01/2008 17:51

duvetwoman - I have been following your thread but have no experience of this so hadn't posted. I just wanted to make sure you didn't go unnoticed and keep this bumped in case someone knows what. Sending you a big hug and hoping somebody who can be of more practical help is along soon.
Take care
HQ

mumofk · 09/01/2008 17:54

Hi duvet, I'm so sorry its not better news. CCAM is something I have seen, and in my limited knowledge the outcomes can vary so much- that's where checking progress regularly can help your little one.
Its so hard not to try to blame,but there really wasn't anything you could do any different, and you are doing everything you can to help your baby as much as you can.
Its such a hard time for you, sending big hugs.
mumofk

HolidaysQueen · 09/01/2008 18:02

I just did a quick google and it seems like there is a lot of info out there but you may not want to look at it just yet as it seems all very medical rather than patient focused. But from what I can gather, it seems that in general the prognosis is good, and I did just want to post this one sentence which finished one of the articles as it may make you feel a little better knowing that your baby has plenty of time to catch up: "Lungs continue to grow until the child is 9 years old, leaving plenty of time for the development of normal healthy lungs." Fingers crossed for you.

Take care xx

hertsnessex · 09/01/2008 18:06

duvetwoman, please try to relax and rest, your baby needs you not to stress. outcomes of this (as tohers has said) can vary, but keep positive. thinking of you.

CaptainUnderpants · 09/01/2008 19:30

Hi Duvetwoman, sorry to hear that it wasn't as you hoped . keep positive and strong .

Original poster

duvetwoman · 10/01/2008 12:16

thanks for all your lovely messages. I have been looking on the net but as its so rare not many people to talk to about it

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