Prenatal Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Vein of Galen Aneurysmal Malformation

The vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (VGAM) is a rarely-seen congenital intracranial arteriovenous shunt characterized by an abnormal direct relationship between one or more cerebral arteries and the vein of Galen. While the causes of VGAM are not fully known, the hypothesis advocated is that it is due to persistence of embryonic vascular support causing progressive dilatation of the aneurysm. It can be diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography. Together with extremely high-flow intracerebral shunt and differing degrees of pulmonary hypertension, high-output heart failure linked to volume increases may occur. Current treatment choice is endovascular treatment which if administered in the early period before heart failure develops may be life-saving. For this reason, prenatal diagnosis of this multidisciplinary treatment approach requiring situation, is important. Here, we present a 28-year-old woman at 33 weeks' gestation who was evaluated using B-mode and color Doppler sonography for the prenatal diagnosis of VGAM.