Thursday, February 4, 2010

Ultrasound Misses Birth Defect

Ultrasounds Can Detect Hundreds of Deformities, But Not Babies Missing Eyes
When Taylor Garrison gave birth in October, she was astonished that doctors whisked her daughter, Brielle, out of the delivery room without much explanation.
"They took her out of the room, and they wouldn't let us see her," said Garrison, 15, of Wellington, Fla.
Finally, after six hours of tests, Garrison got to look briefly at her baby and see what doctors were so concerned about.
"She looked like a normal baby, but I could just tell something was wrong," Garrison said.
Brielle was born without any eye tissue at all, a condition called anophthalmia that leaves a person irrevocably blind.
Garrison also learned this rare diagnosis was one that is almost always missed by ultrasound -- even though hundreds of genetic diseases and deformities once discovered at birth can now be detected with the latest ultrasound technology.
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