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Previous Volume 339:1293-1295 October 29, 1998 Number 18 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In twin pregnancy with acardia, which occurs in about 1 in 35,000 deliveries, the heart and usually other organs fail to develop in one twin.¹ The acardiac ("recipient") twin receives blood from the normal ("pump") twin, and the blood is then returned to the normal twin.² The natural history is variable, and some pregnancies proceed to term. Commonly, the acardiac twin becomes grossly edematous, and its size may exceed that of the pump twin. Hydramnios may occur in either sac. The perinatal mortality rate for pump twins is around 55 percent, with death due mainly to congestive cardiac failure or . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Source Information

From the Fetal Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College London Medical School, 86-96 Chenies Mews, London WC1E 6HX, United Kingdom, where reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Rodeck.

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sepulveda, W., Hasbun, J., Dezerega, V., Devoto, J. C., Alcalde, J. L. (2004). Successful Sonographically Guided Laser Ablation of a Large Acardiac Twin at 26 Weeks' Gestation. J Ultrasound Med 23: 1663-1666 [Full Text]  
• Norwitz, E. R., Hoyte, L. P.J., Jenkins, K. J., van der Velde, M. E., Ratiu, P., Rodriguez-Thompson, D., Wilkins-Haug, L., Tempany, C. M.C., Fishman, S. J. (2000). Separation of Conjoined Twins with the Twin Reversed-Arterial-Perfusion Sequence after Prenatal Planning with Three-Dimensional Modeling. NEJM 343: 399-402 [Full Text]  
• BRASSARD, M., FOURON, J.-C., LEDUC, L., GRIGNON, A., PROULX, F. (1999). Prognostic Markers in Twin Pregnancies With an Acardiac Fetus. Obstet Gynecol 94: 409-414 [Abstract] [Full Text]