[Twin pregnancy combining a hydatidiform mole and a normal ovum]. / Grossesse gémellaire associant une môle hydatiforme et un oeuf normal.

It is rare for a twin pregnancy to consist of a normally growing fetus and a hydatidiform mole. A differential diagnosis between a partial mole and a degenerating fibroid together with a normal pregnancy has to be made. This can be made using ultrasound pictures but also using cultures from trophoblast samples, or cultures from amniotic cells obtained by amniocentesis. These will eliminate the possibility of the triploidy by showing that there is a normal caryotype present. The complications and the risk of degeneration are the same as with a plain hydatiform mole. The uterus has to be evacuated and a follow-up has to be carried out to screen for trophoblastic proliferation.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic problems in anencephaly]. / Problèmes diagnostiques et thérapeutiques posés par l'anencéphalie.

The authors report on 18 cases of anencephalus, studied from April, 1976 to December, 1982. Possible etiologies, morphological characteristics, circumstances leading to its discovery, and diagnostic tools are presented. Emphasis is placed on the usefulness of ultrasonography to diagnose this condition as early as the 13th to 14th week of gestation. Evacuation of the uterus is always difficult as it involves a second trimester abortion, but is one of the best indications for the use of prostaglandins. In a woman with a previous history of an anencephalic child, careful monitoring of subsequent pregnancies is necessary as the recurrence rate is approximately 4 p. 100 (13 p. 100 in the case of a second anencephalic child). Dosing of alpha-fetoprotein and acetylcholinesterase in amniotic fluid and repeated sonograms are indispensable.