Enlarged Ventricles

[jennie197961]

I am 30 weeks pregnant and a routine growth ultrasound report said there "seemed" to be mild swelling of ventricles (~1 mm) in my baby boy.  My OB said not to worry, but I'm freaking out!  My level 2 ultrasound at ~20 weeks came back normal, as did nuchal translucency and quad screen.  I'd love some reassurance!

[jennie197961]

Hello!  All went fine with my ultrasound last week.  The doctor saw no dilation of ventricles but saw that the baby is a bit of giant - pushing 5 lbs. at 31 weeks already!  

[jennie197961]

Thanks so much, Rachel_81!  You have no idea how much you've put my mind at ease!

[Rachel_81]

Absolutely! The fact that all your other scans have been normal is a very good thing.

[jennie197961]

One more question - do you think it's a good thing that all of my other ultrasounds to this point looked normal?  Including a Level 2 at around 20 weeks?

[jennie197961]

Thanks so much!  I'll let you know how things go.

[begrajek]

First of all if the tech said anything about it being abnormal, it's illegal, and causes problems like pregnant woman to freak out. I'm sure everything is great and that his hiccup in practice will be taken care of.

[Rachel_81]

I agree with your doctor. The fact that the Radiologist sounded vague, means he/she probably did not think the ventricles appeared enlarged but since the sono tech's measurements were larger than normal, they had to comment on it. I understand your worry, but try to relax and think positive! :) Good luck on your next sonogram. Don't hesitate to ask the sono tech to measure the ventricles more than once, just to be sure.

[jennie197961]

Yes - she said the difference was only about 1 mm (I'm assuming the ventricles measured at around 11 mm).  She also mentioned it could be that it just wasn't a good shot from the tech.  The radiologist apparently used some vague language that led her to believe that there wasn't much to worry about (she specifically said "I would not worry about this") but that he was potentially trying to cover himself in case there actually turned out to be an issue.  She said nothing else abnormal was mentioned and that normally if it's something to concern yourself with they make more specific comments outside of "the ventricles seem to be swollen" (or whatever the radiologist wrote).  As I read this, I know I sound nuts because she's telling me not to worry...but I am!  I have another Level 2 ultrasound on Thursday, but I'm not sure I can wait that long.  :)

[Rachel_81]

Hi! I am an Ultrasound Tech and the best outcome is typically observed when the fetus' ventricles are only mildly enlarged (measure between 10-15 millimeters in size), and when there are no other problems seen on the ultrasound, and when genetic testing results are normal—this is called “Isolated Mild Ventriculomegaly”. My question to you is did you mean to say 10mm not 1 mm? Because a 1 mm measurement would not make much sense.