Vaginal delivery using cranioclasia following prenatal diagnosis of a giant fetal intracranial teratoma.

Intracranial teratoma, although a rare disease, is nonetheless the most common of the congenital tumors of the central nervous system in the neonatal period. It can be diagnosed antenatally by ultrasound. The prognosis for fetal forms of teratoma is very grim. We report here the case of an immature teratoma identified at 26 weeks' gestation and discuss its obstetric consequences, in particular, the technical procedures for a medically-indicated termination of pregnancy in view of the massive increase in head circumference associated with this tumor. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.