Metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation

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Abstract
Objective To investigate the development of the metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. Methods Three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound was used to measure the height and gap between the frontal bones in 200 normal fetuses and in nine fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 (median, 12) weeks of gestation. Results In the 200 normal fetuses, the height of the frontal bones increased significantly with gestation from a mean of 2.5 mm (5th and 95th centiles: 1.9 mm and 3.3 mm) at 11 weeks to 6.1 mm (5th and 95th centiles: 4.6 mm and 8.1 mm) at 13 + 6 weeks. The gap between the two frontal bones did not change significantly with gestation (mean: 1.5 mm; 5th centile: 1.0 mm; 95th centile: 2.0 mm). In fetuses with holoprosencephaly, the height of the frontal bones was significantly larger (mean difference, 5.6 SDs; range, 3.9–7.7 SDs; P < 0.0001) and the gap was significantly smaller (mean 0.2 mm, range 0–0.8 mm; P < 0.0001) than those in normal fetuses. Conclusions Holoprosencephaly is associated with an accelerated development of the frontal bones and premature closure of the metopic suture. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.