Prenatal diagnosis of cleft palate: contribution of color Doppler ultrasound.

The antenatal diagnosis of cleft palate by ultrasound can sometimes be difficult by conventional B-mode imaging, especially when the tongue is in its normal position. We describe two cases which illustrate the value of color Doppler in the antenatal diagnosis of cleft palate. In the first case, at 32 weeks' gestation, there was a large defect with a massive passage of flow extending from the buccal cavity into one of the nasal fossae. In the second case, at 22 weeks' gestation, a parasagittal view demonstrated the fetal tongue to be in the normal position, but there was an abnormal trajectory off low from the buccal cavity into one of the nasal fossae followed by an exit at the level of the cleft. Although a cleft lip was demonstrated on B-mode imaging, we would not have been able to make the diagnosis of cleft palate without color Doppler. This is the first report describing the contribution of color Doppler to the antenatal diagnosis of cleft palate. Copyright 1992 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology