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Introduction
Although umbilical vascular anomalies are congenital malformations seen commonly, venous abnormalities of the umbilical vein, such as an umbilical cord varix, are rare. The widespread use of routine sonography has facilitated the prenatal diagnosis of umbilical vein varix (UVV), the clinical significance of which remains unclear.
Disorder
Definition
UVV is a rare, idiopathic, focal dilatation of the umbilical vein, either within the intraamniotic portion of the umbilical cord or within the fetal abdomen.
Prevalence and Epidemiology
UVV is a rare entity, representing approximately 4% of umbilical cord malformations. In a retrospective review, Byers et al. reported an incidence of 1.1 : 1000 pregnancies. These lesions have been reported more commonly in the umbilical cord than in the fetus. In cases of intraabdominal UVVs, extrahepatic varices are more common than intrahepatic varices.
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