Visualization of the fetal face by ultrasound.

A technique for detailed examination of the fetal face by ultrasound in utero is described. It is based on the systematic visualization of the facial structures in four planes--sagittal, coronal, transverse, and oblique--and on the detailed view of other facial structures. Its use has allowed the identification of normal facies in many of the 800 cases included in this study and also the identification of the abnormal facial characteristics of triploidy, cyclopia, anencephaly, Seckel syndrome, trisomy 18, and nuchal cysts syndrome.