Giant Chorioangioma of the Placenta as a Cause of Fetal Hydrops and Neonatal Death: A case report

ABSTRACT

We described a giant chroioangioma of the placenta that caused premature rupture of membranes at 31 weeks of gestation in a 31-year-old primiparous woman and a subsequent neonatal death of the baby. The placental mass, weighing 820 gm and measuring 21.5x15x4.5 cm, was easily shelled out from a edematous 1280 gm-placenta. The mass had a thin fibrous capsule and a solid fibromatous appearance. The infant, weighed 2175 gm, appeared edematous oon the whole body and had Apgar scores of 4 and 5 at 1 and 5 minutes respectively. The baby expired 4 days after birth due to high output cardiac failure and respiratory failure. Postmortem examination revealed markedly dilatated umbilical vein, inferior vena cava and right atrium with patent froamen ovale, congestive hepatosplenomegaly, pulmonary hemorrhages, and meconium aspiration pneumonia. Microscopically, the mass revealed a variety of histologic patterns, reflecting entire spectrums of villous vasculogenesis from loose myxomatous connective tissue and undifferentiated hemangioblastic cell nests to well-developed capillaries with hematopoietic cells in the lumen.