Comparative study of microvascular structural changes in the gestational diabetic placenta.

Aims: Microvascular morphology and pathological changes in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) placentas and normal placentas were observed via vascular casting technology, electron microscopy, and pathological detection technology. Vascular structure and histological morphology changes in GDM placentas were examined to generate basic experimental data for the diagnosis and prognostic determination of GDM.

Methods: This case-control study involving 60 placentas, 30 from healthy controls and 30 from patients with GDM.

Prenatal ultrasound combined with cardiovascular casts diagnose symmetrically complex cardiac malformations in two fetuses.

Dextrocardia with a ductus arteriosus (DA) malformation is extremely rare. Here, we present a case of dextrocardia complicated with a right DA that is circuitously connecting the pulmonary artery and the right brachiocephalic artery. Coincidentally, the deformities of this fetus are almost symmetrical with those in another fetus (also presented here), which is astonishing and meaningful.

Utility of a modified vascular corrosion casting technique in the diagnosis of fetal total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) is a rare congenital cardiac malformation, and prenatal detection of TAPVC malformation remains a challenging. TAPVC can be easily missed or misdiagnosed in prenatal examinations. This study was aimed to use the modified vascular corrosion casting technique to prepare fetal cardiovascular casts with TAPVC and investigate the utility of cardiovascular casting for the demonstration of fetal TAPVC.

Utility of modified vascular corrosion casting technique in the diagnosis of fetal ductus arteriosus abnormalities.

The anatomy of ductus arteriosus (DA) can be varied in different congenital heart defects (CHDs), and it is difficult to fully discover the DA and other associated cardiac anomalies by prenatal ultrasound. This study was aimed to use the modified vascular corrosion casting technique to prepare fetal cardiovascular casts with DA anomalies, assess the casting effectiveness in evaluating the great vessels of the fetal heart and investigate the utility of cardiovascular casting for the demonstration of fetal DA abnormalities. This retrospective study enrolled fourteen fetuses (23 to 28 gestational weeks) with severe CHDs diagnosed by prenatal echocardiography and casting technique from January 2013 to July 2019.