What does molar pregnancy look like on ultrasound?
What does molar pregnancy look like on ultrasound?
A pelvis ultrasound of a molar pregnancy will typically show a grape-like cluster of blood vessels and tissue. Your doctor may also recommend other imaging — like MRI and CT scans — to confirm the diagnosis. High levels of hCG in the blood might also be a sign of a molar pregnancy.
How can you tell the difference between choriocarcinoma and invasive mole?
Invasive mole is unlike choriocarcinoma, the latter is without the presence of chorionic villi. It is important to distinguish between invasive mole and choriocarcinoma, as the former has a more favorable outcome.
Can a molar pregnancy be mistaken?
Ultrasound features of very early molar pregnancy can be nonspecific. Some can appear as a thickened endometrium and later may be confused with an incomplete miscarriage. The thickened endometrium, given the clinical and biochemical presentation, can be confused with an ectopic pregnancy, necessitating a laparoscopy.
Does hCG rise normally in molar pregnancy?
Beta hCG levels rise rapidly in normal pregnancies. In a partial molar pregnancy, the beta hCG levels rise at a faster rate and often to a higher level than a normal pregnancy.
Can a molar pregnancy be seen on ultrasound?
A molar pregnancy can usually be diagnosed by high resolution ultrasound scans, because of the distinctive appearance of molar tissue. A complete molar pregnancy may be easier to detect by ultrasound than a partial molar pregnancy.
What is the hCG level in molar pregnancy?
The measurement of high hCG levels in excess of 100,000 mIU/mL suggests the diagnosis of a complete molar pregnancy, particularly when associated with vaginal bleeding, uterine enlargement and abnormal ultrasound findings.
Can choriocarcinoma be seen on ultrasound?
An ultrasound scan can diagnose many women with persistent trophoblastic disease or choriocarcinoma.
What does the snowstorm sign on breast ultrasound mean?
Snowstorm sign (extracapsular breast implant rupture) Snowstorm sign on breast ultrasound imaging represents the presence of free silicone droplets mixed with breast tissue giving a characteristic heterogeneous echogenic appearance with dispersion of the ultrasound beam.
How is beta hCG used in obstetric ultrasound?
Dr Karwan T. Khoshnaw and Dr Matt A. Morgan ◉ et al. Beta-hCG (bHCG) is a sex hormone found in the mother’s blood serum that can be used to help interpret obstetric ultrasound findings. Beta-hCG levels may be used in three ways in the clinical setting of pregnancy:
What can cause elevated hCG in the absence of pregnancy?
An elevated β-hCG in the absence of viable pregnancy can occur for multiple reasons and has a broad differential diagnosis including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, pituitary hCG production, trophoblastic disease and phantom hCG.
What are the risks of elevated beta hCG levels?
This is to reduce the risk of inadvertently mistaking FH and LSH as part of the hCG fraction. Markedly elevated beta-hCG levels may occur with gestational trophoblastic disease, whilst an abundance of the alpha subunit (of hCG) may cause hyperthyroidism 7.
