-Case Reports-

Is a Red Umbilical Cord a Sign of Umbilical Venous Congestion?: A Case Report

Hidehiko Miyake^1,2, Miwa Igarashi^1,2, Yusuke Inde¹, Akihito Nakai¹, Shunji Suzuki² and Toshiyuki Takeshita¹

¹Division of Reproductive Medicine, Perinatology and Gynecologic Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Japanese Red Cross Katsushika Maternity Hospital, Tokyo

Postnatal examination of fetal appendages is important because this information may help predict perinatal outcome. We present a case of a red streak along the entire umbilical vein after a cesarean section due to non-reassuring fetal status. The pathological findings revealed an umbilical cord with dilated vascular changes and mild funisitis. Because the dilated change was intense in the umbilical vein, the red streak of the umbilical cord was caused by venous congestion. Moreover, we considered that the umbilical venous congestion was due to increased resistance in the fetal intra-abdominal umbilical vein, which was associated with the non-reassuring fetal status.

J Nippon Med Sch 2011; 78: 42-45

Keywords
umbilical cord, non-reassuring fetal status, congestion

Correspondence to
Hidehiko Miyake, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nippon Medical School Tama Nagayama Hospital, 1-7-1 Nagayama, Tama, Tokyo 206-8512, Japan
hidehiko@pluto.dti.ne.jp

Received, June 1, 2010
Accepted, November 1, 2010