Fetal schizencephaly refers to schizencephaly diagnosed in utero. Usually only open lips types can be diagnosed antenatally.
Radiographic features
Ultrasound
may show a unilateral or bilateral defect extending from the pial surface to the ventricular wall
-
there may be other features such as
absent cavum septum pellucidum
occasional fetal hydrocephalus
Fetal MRI
fetal MRI is performed to confirm the cleft is grey matter lined which distinguishes this entity from porencephalic cyst
it is more sensitive at detecting close lip schizencephaly than ultrasound
it is also useful to confirm the presence of associated anomalies
Practical points
Similar abnormalities in the posterior fossa are called cerebellar clefts and may occur simultaneously with fetal schizencephaly.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.