My 14 week unborn has Septated Cystic Hygroma, with Nuchal Translucency of 8.8mm

We discovered yesterday that the fetus has septated cystic hygroma (after we had found out about the Nuchal Translucency test result of 8.8.mm)... given the fact that it does not have a chromosome abnormality, we were given advice from  a few doctors that our chances of having a healthy baby with no cardiac or skeletal issues is between 10-40%.. not the best odds.  We may not take that chance.  It is so hard.  When a doctor tells you you have a 70% chance your child may have a major heart issue is not re-assuring at all.

[Anya1984]

I am so sorry...have you consulted many doctors? Don't make a decision before you are 100% sure...

[nicholas1912]

We have talked to a few doctors and genetic counseling..
70% chance that something could go wrong is not good.

[martikadragoon]

Honestly.... since you had genetic counselling that went well, then you need to go get other opinions.

babies with heart issues CAN Survive. you can get a Fetal Echo done at 19w to see if baby's heart is ok.
Anything past 19w they have trouble seeing things due to the bones being so hard, the U/S can't see through the bones.

My son had 3 holes in his heart, and had surgery. he's ok now.

[nicholas1912]

I understand the chances, and your son is very, very lucky.  Odds are things will turn out bad though.  It could be other things than the heart, is still an unknown.
Waiting 6 more weeks does not guarantee anything new, nor does it give us better than a 50% chance the baby will make it to birth, nor have a healthy life.  If people were given 50% chances of a healthy baby, people would not get pregnant.   I am sorry if I sound pessimistic, I just understand the science of it and know the odds from past history and from our Doctors opinions and their history.

[nicholas1912]

I am just writing on here, since I wanted to vent a bit and not cause any trouble.  The last few weeks have been hell for me and my family.  I guess I am just looking for someone to understand and maybe give me advice or more percentages about this finding and their experiences... It is my opinion that people who write on forums like this may have had better experiences... I think the people who have had bad cases are more likely to stay away from talking about it on web site like this....they have others things to occupy their time...but that is my opinion..but i could be wrong..

[Mumita]

That is one very hard decision that you and your wife must make.
We have friends that when she was 5 months pregnant she got an u/s that said that the baby had not developed his diaphram (I don't know the exact term of the condition) and therefor his intestines etc. were in his chest cavity and so his heart and lungs did not develop well and so the chances that he would make it to delivery were very very low.
They decided to terminate the pregnancy than to carry the baby to term.  I think that was the best decision that they could have made however they are living in a world of pain and hurt feelings, counseling etc.  Its not easy specially for the woman to go through this.  I am sure that she will be aware that she can conceive again but it doesn't make it hurt any less.  

I am sorry that you are going through this, I think that you have a higher chance of survival than they did.  So think carefully about your decision, regardless what desicion you come to, be supportive of each other, this is when you need it most.

[KeyD]

I can understand why you'd want to terminate now given the terrible odds against you, although i have never been in your shoes, i believe that i would likely terminate the pregnancy, even if he makes it to delivery he may (or may not) have a lifetime of suffering. good luck with your decision.

[nicholas1912]

KeyD,

We are highly leaning towards termination, but have given this weeks of thought.

[pookie1121]

As I mentioned in my other post, I went through what you are going through in February.  We had an elevated NT measurement for BOTH of our twins.... It was hell.  I thought maybe I could bring one baby with a chromosome problem into the world, but what would I do if both had issues?!!?  Luckily for us it turned out that both had no chromosomal abnormalities.  But of course, at future ultrasounds, there could be something that turns up.

My first daughter was born with a small VSD.  Yes that is nothing like the heart defect that you are talking about, but still it was also a cause for concern when I found out in he 30th week of my last pregnancies.  We spoke to pediatricians and cardiologists to be understand and realized that a VSD is not that big of a deal.

I personally dont care about %ages anymore.  The chance of a baby having a VSD or other heart defect is around 2%, but our daughter had it.  The chance of having twins naturally is around 1.7% but we had it.  The percentage of babies that have a NT measurement more than 2.5 is around 5% and yet we had that too!  When we got our risk factor for chromosome abnormalities after the NT scan, we were told they had around 1:48 and 1:23 - and I felt that those were pretty good odds, whereas others would see it as horrible odds!  Your up to 40% chance of having a healthy baby sounds pretty damn good to me compared to some of the odds that I have had in the past ;)

Most babies with a Cystic Hygroma also have chromosomal abnormalities so if your little one has normal chromosomes that is a positive sign.   I think you need to try to get as much information as possible and maybe seek out others who have had children/pregnancies with the same.  How large was the cystic hygroma?

I wish you all the best, I know this is a very hard decision....

[martikadragoon]

You are wrong. I have a %50 to have 100% healthy babies... But I accept those chances as well as the health problems that can possibly occur. and I CHOSE to have 2 babies. We are going for 1 more in about 5 years. :)

TJ WAS lucky, but he wasn't in the Minority. at all. I still think you should go for another doctors opinion.  
and I TOTALLY agree with what Pookie suggested. :)