PMC4901021_01
Fetus with spondylocostal dysplasia. Demonstrative sagittal view of the thoracic spine acquired during second-trimester ultrasound shows abnormal curvature of the spine. Posterior ribs do not appear fused. Segmentation-fusion anomalies were appreciable in the lower thoracic spine (not shown).
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A repeat second-trimester anatomy scan performed at 21 weeks, 6 days' gestational age confirmed a 70- to 80-degree kyphoscoliosis involving the thoracolumbar spine (Fig. 1).
Fetus with spondylocostal dysplasia. Coronal half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) (A) and axial fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) (B) images from a third-trimester fetal MRI study show a lower thoracic left-convex curve. The left lung volume appeared subjectively smaller on the fetal MRI study. Neither T2-weighted sequence elucidated rib anatomy.
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Severe lower thoracic scoliosis, approximately 80 degrees left convex, appeared secondary to segmentation fusion anomalies affecting at least two levels (Fig. 2).
Fetus with spondylocostal dysplasia. Postnatal chest radiograph shows severe left-convex scoliosis centered at the thoracolumbar junction and measuring approximately 70 degrees from T3-L2. Segmentation anomalies appear throughout the entire thoracic spine. There are 13 ribs on the left and 11 ribs on the right, with medial bony fusion involving the right fifth through seventh ribs and the right eighth and ninth ribs. The right lung is somewhat smaller and less aerated than the left.
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Multiple right pedicles were fused in the midthoracic spine at the levels of multiple left-sided hemivertebrae (Fig. 3).