Fetal Ebstein's anomaly: early and late appearance.

OBJECTIVE: To present sonographic findings in early and late appearance of fetal Ebstein's anomaly.

METHODS: Fetal sonography was performed in 53,447 consecutive pregnant women at 14 to 16 weeks' gestation.

RESULTS: Ebstein's anomaly was detected in eight fetuses, in four of them additional anomalies were observed. All eight pregnancies were terminated. In an additional fetus, a normal four-chamber view without valvular regurgitation was visualized at 15 weeks' gestation. At 24 weeks, a normal four-chamber view was depicted. No Doppler examination was performed at that time. The newborn was found to have Ebstein's anomaly with pulmonary stenosis. A balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty was performed with a good outcome at three months of age.

CONCLUSION: Fetal Ebstein's anomaly may be detected in early pregnancy. The incidence is higher than what is reported in newborns. Depiction of a normal fetal heart in early and midpregnancy does not exclude the possibility of subsequent development of Ebstein's anomaly.