Spontaneous ping-pong parietal fracture in a newborn
Clinical case A female infant was delivered by caesarean section at 38 weeks of gestation with a depressed calvarial fracture (DCF) (figures 1–3). No trauma was described during the pregnancy. No instrumental extraction was used during C-section. The newborn examination was normal. DCF are skull distortion similar to a ‘ping pong ball’ because of the cranial vault flexibility.1 DCF are secondary to instrumental extraction, but may also occur in utero. Fetal head pressure against the maternal bony structures can result in fracture.2 Trauma to the mother’s abdomen and traumatic delivery are also accepted as pathological mechanisms for such lesions. The fetal head during the third trimester of pregnancy is completely protected by the surrounding bony structures. Therefore, it is unlikely that an impact, without maternal pelvic injuries (uterine myoma or tumour), would be responsible for a fetal skull fracture.
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Loire, M., Barat, M., Mangyanda Kinkembo, L., Lenhardt, F., M'buila, C. Tags: Obstetrics and gynaecology, Oncology, Journalology, Neurological injury, Pregnancy, Reproductive medicine, Child and adolescent psychiatry (paedatrics), Competing interests (ethics), Trauma, Injury Images in neonatal medicine Source Type: research
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