absent nasal bone
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Topic: absent nasal bone
Posted By: MrsJMcD
Subject: absent nasal bone
Date Posted: 25 March 2010 at 9:01pm
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hi guys - keen to hear any stories similar to mine..
I had my 12 week scan last week and thought everything was ok - NT 1.3 so relieved. I'd had the maternal screening blood tests done the week before. My midwife phoned last night and told me I was high risk for downs - I am 30 and the risk is generally 1/900 for someone my age - my risk is 1/55. She said they couldn't fnd a nasal bone in the scan but wasn't able to tell me if there were any other areas of concern - said it wasn't her area of specialty and she'd refer me to the hospital so i could figure out what to do next - she told me I could have an amnio if I wanted to know for sure. I've been reading some articles online and it seems that while not all DS babies have an absent nasal bone, most babies with an absent nasal bone are DS. I'm really worried and am going nuts waiting to hear about a hospital appointment. Any thoughts??? |
Replies:
Posted By: Birdie
Date Posted: 25 March 2010 at 9:25pm
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Hey hun, I have not been in this situation but did not want to read and run.
How soon will you get your hospital appointment as i guess the doctors there are really who you need to talk to. Other than that i guess if you want to know for sure if your bubs has Downs or not you will need to have a cvs or an amnio. Just remember though that your risk of 1 in 55 is just a risk, it may be that 1 but it is more likely to be one of the 55, IYKWIM. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: Mrs_B
Date Posted: 25 March 2010 at 9:31pm
I'm sorry I don't really have any advice but didn't want to read and run. I hope you get an appt with the specialist soon so you can get some answers 
Think positively 1/55 is the same as 0.02%  -------------  
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Posted By: babyg
Date Posted: 25 March 2010 at 9:45pm
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We were *kinda* the opposite. At our NT scan the NT was borderline (mid-high 2s) but because of our age (30) and a well defined nasal bone they ended up giving us a lower risk and recommended we didn't bother with further assessment.
Was it definite that they couldn't locate a nasal definition or that they couldn't see to try to define it? When I had my anatomy scan bub wasn't angled right and they couldn't see the definition of the bone. They ended up giving up trying to get baby on the right angle and just went by my NT risk result instead of looking forever. A lack of nasal definition can (but doesn't always) suggest a chromosomal issue. There are all kinds of things that fall into that category, not just DS. Had you already thought about what you would do if baby was found to have a medical/neurological issue while in utero? Good luck, try hard not to stress - its early days yet ------------- Ev, Mum to: Carys Ruby - 4 October 2007 Spencer James - 2 July 2010 |
Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 2:21pm
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Hey,
When my 12 week was done the midwife report said something like "no discernable nasal bone". She asked if we wanted another scan done but we said no because the maternal serum screening came back low risk and we have our anatomy scan coming up soon anyway. Did the radiographer look for the nasal bone and not find it or did they not look? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
http://intermittentblogger.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Buttersmum
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 3:02pm
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Hi there
When I had my scan at 13 wks they couldn't definately see a nasal bone. I was told not to worry cause everything else was fine...NT was 1.6 They said they would just check the nasal bone at the 20 wk scan. One way to think of it is that the nasal bone would be typically 1mm big so some US machines don't have the resolution to be able to see the nasal bone so clearly at this early stage. I work in the industry (radiographer) so I know the sonographers and this is what they told me. BTW I'm 34 so even higher risk than you I would guess. Everything was fine at my 20 wk scan and all I can say is that she has a petite little nose and not a big honker!! haha. Honestly I would try not to worry a huge amount yet as the NT was absolutely fine and at this stage that is the biggest indicator of DS ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
 my little blobby April 09 "gone but will never be forgotten xx"
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 3:50pm
| I don't have any experience with the nasal thing but keep talking to your MW so you can get seen asap at the hospital. The more she pushes the faster you will get seen. Being told to wait is horrible. We had to with Jared and every day we had to wait to find out more info was like an eternity |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 5:32pm
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As others have said, that bone is sooooo little it could be missed if baby is in a funny angle...
I agree with kebatkat, make sure your mw pushes so you get seen asap! -------------   
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 5:48pm
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Did they do a blood test as well?
I'm going for both of these as I'm 36, and my understanding was they looked at both results and compared the too for hormone markers that indicate downs. I wouldn't have thought no nasal bone on its own was all that conclusive without blood test results as well. I'm not a OB/MW so this is only my thoughts. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 5:51pm
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Sorry missed the first part of you post, if the NT screening was ok, I'd go with that. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: BuzzyB
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 6:26pm
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I'm sorry I don't have any info for you, but I wanted to wish you good luck. Waiting is so so hard and I really hope that you can get your hospital appointment soon ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: MrsJMcD
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 6:53pm
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Thanks for all your messages guys. It's been two days and I haven't heard anything so I'm going to chase it on Monday. I'm trying to keep calm about it but it is a little scary. In the end what will be will be and this will still be our first child together, my parents first grandchild, a brother or sister for my step son and a very welcome addition to our family. It's just that DS means your child won't have the wonderful life of opportunity you dream of for him or her and it's that thought that makes me really sad.
My mw said they looked for the nasal bone and couldn't see it. I had the maternal serum bloods done as well and it's the combined results that gives me my risk i think but she didn't really go in to it.... she wasn't very helpful.... said it wasn't her area of expertise. you can say that again!!! when I asked her to explain what a 1/55 chance meant she said well, it means you have a 1/45 chance of the baby not having DS. And I said hang on a minute, there isn't much of a difference between 45 and 55 - are you saying it's basically 50/50 (my mind was not in tip top shape for fractions at this point but she's got no excuse)...and she said yes! DH is in Tonga for work at the moment but thankfully i had a friend visiting when the midwife rang, who sat down afterwards and worked out that 1/55 is a 2% chance so it wasn't 50/50!!!! this is the second time I've ended up feeling let down and annoyed with the midwife - I'm going to change midwives i think! |
Posted By: Caro07
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 7:01pm
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I have a slightly different story to you.
Our babies NT was slightly elevated at the 12 week scan and because I am 31 that made me 'high risk'. I went on to have the blood test at 14 weeks and when combined we became low risk. The scan and the blood test combined are more accurate than either on their own. I would echo what others have said, that not seeing the nasal bone doesn't mean it was absent. I totally understand what you are going through and the waiting is awful. I had to wait 3 weeks before I could get the blood test and the waiting and thinking was awful. You'll get a quick referal to FMU (fetal maternal medicine) and if you decide to go down the amnio path it will all happen quite quickly. They may also rescan you at FMU and have a look for any other markers, including the nasal bone. Not sure if I have helped or not but feel free to PM me if you want to chat. I googled so much when I was at your stage and my DH found it quite hard to talk about and I wanted to discuss everything in minute detail ------------- Caroline, SAHM to 2 boys, S (4 years old) and J (2 years old) 
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Posted By: Caro07
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 7:06pm
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Just saw your reply - that is a shocking response from your MW
Also remember that this is all just screening, not diagnostic. There are people that have perfect screening results and go on to have affected babies. If you need to know, an amnio is the only way to diagnose but that has risks too. Although I was not refered in the end I have heard very positive things about fetal maternal medicine and I am sure you will be very well looked after. Have a hug ------------- Caroline, SAHM to 2 boys, S (4 years old) and J (2 years old)
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 7:10pm
| Sounds like your mw has got her numbers a bit mixed up though I can understand her being cautious about telling you things when its a specialist area. Call her on sunday and say you want her to chase up the hospital first thing monday and get bossy about it. When I got bossy and pushy things happened alot faster for me than when I left it up to my MW to do things at her speed. |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 26 March 2010 at 9:52pm
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Hmmm, I think I would be looking at moving MW too hun! -------------
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Posted By: Buttersmum
Date Posted: 27 March 2010 at 9:15am
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Hey Just thought I would share what was commented on in my report..............remember I'm 34 so older than you.....
"the maternal age related risk for trisomy 21 (DS) is 1/322. this reduces to 1/1319 using the above NT measurement (which was 1.6)" So not quite sure where she got her numbers from. They also look at the ventricles in the brain and cerebrum to assess any abnormality and I also think this is much more of a sign than an absent nasal bone. It just says "Nasal bone not visualised with difficult assessment" I was told not to worry and sure enough so far so good with the 20 wk scan so really I would try not to be worried and yeah like the others have said I would be getting a far more experienced MW. Hopefully when you do have your appt at the hospital they will ease your mind. Its a big decision to be having an amnio with the associated risks when (and really only according to me and I aint no Dr) there is little at this stage to indicate the need for one. ETA: sorry I just read you had bloods done as well. so that altered your risk factor. Remember though they are only risk factors and nothing can give you a definate diagnosis...........amnio's are very very good but even then they aren't 100%.........................Whatever happens you just do what you are comfortable doing and what you feel is right no matter what advice others give you ------------- http://lilypie.com">
my little blobby April 09 "gone but will never be forgotten xx"
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Posted By: BugTeeny
Date Posted: 27 March 2010 at 3:05pm
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Hiyah
I'm probably a little late in the game on this one... I had my NT scan at 12 weeks and the NF was 1.3mm. The result was 1:300 (I'm almost 29). However, the report I recieved at my last MW appointment (just this last Monday) stated that "nasal bone was not seen due to fetal lie" BUT I have a very clear still from the scan of baby in profile and "nasal bone" typed across the bottom, so I have no idea if the sonographer was even correct in her assessment. Anyway, I had the maternal serum blood test done at 16 weeks and the result of that (not combined with my NT scan) was 1:8900. BIG difference. So I hope your blood test comes back with a reassuring result for you
*edited for spelling. ------------- 
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Posted By: MrsJMcD
Date Posted: 30 March 2010 at 8:06pm
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mama pickle - I had the blood tests - I think my result is because of the combined results of the scan and the tests but I don't know for sure - the midwife couldn't tell me anything..grrrrgh. hospital visit on Thursday to have another scan and find out more...possibly a cvs depending on the scan, but we're not even sure if we want it... |
Posted By: babyg
Date Posted: 30 March 2010 at 9:06pm
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Good luck for your scan and appt on Thurs MrsJ, I hope you have some reassurance before Easter ------------- Ev, Mum to: Carys Ruby - 4 October 2007 Spencer James - 2 July 2010 |
Posted By: MrsJMcD
Date Posted: 01 April 2010 at 6:01pm
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Good news - turns out our baby has lovely nasal bones!!!!!
There wasn't anything alarming in the blood tests and my risk level is now 1/2800 or lower - yay! thanks for all your advice and supportive comments over the last week
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Posted By: pekay
Date Posted: 01 April 2010 at 6:11pm
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Posted By: Caro07
Date Posted: 01 April 2010 at 7:56pm
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Hope you can settle back and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy Sorry you had to go through all that stress unnecessarily. Hopefully your MW might have learnt something from your experience too so she can be a bit more supportive and informative when she has another client going through this ------------- Caroline, SAHM to 2 boys, S (4 years old) and J (2 years old)
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Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 02 April 2010 at 12:09am
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I just been lurking but wanted to say that thats fantastic news. All the best for the rest of your pregnancy and hope that you can enjoy it now ------------- Our Angel July 08  Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived 
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Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 02 April 2010 at 9:01am
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fantastic news! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
http://intermittentblogger.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Emmecat
Date Posted: 02 April 2010 at 10:09am
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Yay so happy for you! What a huge relief and weight off your shoulders -------------   http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Buttersmum
Date Posted: 02 April 2010 at 2:50pm
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thats great news!
See your baby will have a nice little petite nose like mine  ------------- http://lilypie.com">
my little blobby April 09 "gone but will never be forgotten xx"
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Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 03 April 2010 at 5:37pm
 awesome news!! ------------- http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
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Posted By: PixieL
Date Posted: 04 April 2010 at 3:17pm
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That;s great news! Just wanted to add that some ethnicities have a lower rate of a visible nasal bone. at 12 weeks. I looked this up becasue my husband is Asian and I was all ready not to see one. I don't know if this applies to you though! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
1/2/9 (27/8/9)
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Posted By: Birdie
Date Posted: 24 April 2010 at 5:40pm
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Thats fantastic news hun ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 24 April 2010 at 6:23pm
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Yeah, thats great news hun! -------------
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