First-Trimester Sonographic Evaluation of Palatine Clefts: A Novel Diagnostic Approach.

Objectives: Sonographic evaluation of the palate is a difficult task, and most palatine clefts are diagnosed in the neonatal period because of the limitations of 2-dimensional (2D) sonography. The objective is to describe a sonographic technique based on 2D markers for screening of palatine clefts during the nuchal translucency scan and to assess the ability of 3-dimensional (3D) sonography in imaging the normal and abnormal palate.

Methods: A total of 2014 women who enrolled for first-trimester screening were included in this prospective study.