Cystic Hygroma

[boymomof2]

Has anyone dealt with this recently? My NIPS test came back negative for chomosome abnormalities but they found a cystic hygroma of 9.6mm at my last ultrasound. I was kind of blind sided because I went in to check my cervix since I had a prior leep that gives me trouble the further along I am. My next ultrasound is next month to see if any changes have been made.

[HoneySpider]

Hi, I thought I'd chime in with my experience since my first baby had a cystic hygroma. For us, it was an indicator of much more severe issues. The CH was very obvious at my 12 week U/S and then we did MaterniT21 testing (this was in 2013) which came back normal. In hindsight, it gave us false hope. The problem is that NIPT doesn't detect all chromosomal abnormalities - typically they only test for major ones (like trisomy 13). When I had an amnio a few weeks later, that's when we learned that she had 2 chromosomal abnormalities and as a result, had many issues including missing part of her heart. The CH was the result of all these issues. We ultimately decided to TFMR because her quality of life, should she survive birth, would have been extremely poor.

I know that it's possible to have a CH on its own and that it can resolve itself over time - hopefully that will be the case for you. But, my understanding is that the majority of the time, a CH indicates a larger problem (the degree of which can range significantly).

Are you having an amnio or CVS? (Not sure how far along you are) I would highly recommend it so you have a clearer picture of what you are looking at. FX for good results - feel free to tag or PM me if you'd like someone to talk to.

[boymomof2]

Thank you for sharing your experience. My sister had this with my nephew and it resolved. I'm praying for the same. I'm a little over 14 weeks now and having an amnio later this month to be sure that everything is normal or if it's something more severe. This is my 3rd pregnancy and I have 2 very healthy boys so this is all very new to me which is why I was so shocked to be told all the possibilities of what this could be.

[pasdechat]

Lurker chiming in here. My DD had a cystic hygroma with hydrops and fetal ascites (basically there was fluid throughout her body) that was discovered around 20 weeks. We were told it could mean anything from a severe heart defect, Turner’s Syndrome (female sex chromosome abnormality) or Noonan’s Syndrome (a pretty rare abnormality). We got the amnio and a few days later we got a Down syndrome diagnosis. We continued the pregnancy and have a beautiful 18 month little girl. The cystic hygroma cleared up late in 3rd tri and aside from some extra doctor and therapy appointments our days look like everyone else’s.

Take a deep breath. Get some diagnostic testing done so you know how to prepare. Also know whatever you feel about the diagnosis is totally normal. Please feel free to reach out if you need to talk about it.

[boymomof2]

I have my amnio scheduled for Friday. They are also going to do the ultrasound first to see what changes have been made since week 12. I'm just over 16 weeks now.