Fetal echocardiography: the prenatal diagnosis of tricuspid atresia (type Ic) during the second trimester of pregnancy

Fetal echocardiography (real-time and M-mode) was used to evaluate a fetus at 20 weeks of gestation because intermittent bradycardia had been auscultated at 14 weeks of gestation. Real-time examination of the four-chamber view suggested ventricular disproportion with the left ventricle larger than the right, absence of the tricuspid valve, atrial and ventricular septal defects, and normal pulmonic and aortic outflow tracts. M-mode quantitation demonstrated a dilated left ventricle, small right ventricle, dilated mitral valve, hypertrophy of the left ventricular wall, and normal outflow tract dimensions. Following the diagnosis of tricuspid atresia (type Ic), genetic amniocentesis was performed (46,XX). Intrauterine death occurred during the 28th week of gestation. Autopsy confirmed the echocardiographic findings.