Nuchal Thickness

The first doctor measured the nuchal thickness at 5.2mm, though a second doctor measured it at 4.4mm on today. The first doctor says there is swelling not just behind the neck, but also around the head and other areas of the body. He said even if the chromosonal tests come back normal, there may still be other congenital problems like with the heart.


Today, we got a negative for Down's result from a CVS. The full CVS results will be in 2 weeks.


What we can think of asking right now is:


Are other serious abnormalities likely even if the CVS and amniocentesis come back negative (as told to us by the first doctor)?


The 2nd doctor says the only problem now is the nuchal swelling (quite contradicting the first doctor). Who's more likely to be right based on the evidence?


Have anyone experienced this similar cases, what is the outcome of the baby, will the baby be normal or not?



This is really worrying us.

Appreciate any advice or info anyone has.

You will get mixed responses here. On such an important matter I suggest you direct the question to your doctor, mentioning the conflicting advice. (Incidentally - different doctors. Did you change or are you getting different doctors allocated at a practice or public health facility?) Good luck.

Thanks TC,


Two private doctors giving me totally different opinions. I am at a very confused stage at the moment.


Hence I want to hear from others who had similar case as mine, I would like to know what is the outcome of their baby.

Hi D&I

It must be very worrying and frustrating time for you. We didn't have a similar situation but I hear from friends who has different reading of test/scan from different doctors. My doctor suggested we should get 4D scan to get better measurement and closer look at everything when we decided not to take blood test or amnio for down syndrome. There seems to be a variety of ultra sounds machine that the doctors have and some are better than others. Have any of your doctors suggested taking 4D scan?


One of my friends's baby was diagnosed to have an extra kidney but turned out later that it wasn't another kidney but just a little clog in one kidney. It is still a complication and they need to monitor, but at least there is a chance that it will be cleared with medication. Another friend was diagnosed as having some cloud in the baby's brain, but with 4D scan, it was all clear and the doubt of having a tumor in the baby brain was a misreading of the lower quality scan.


If I were you, I would go for a 4D scan and get the third opinion.


Well, having said that, you should still direct your questions to your doctors. I hope everything will turn out OK in the end. I am glad for you that your Down's test came back negative and that is great news! Remember even with positive results, there is a big chance of having perfectly healthy baby, so having negavie result is just great!

Hi D&I, sorry to hear about your case, and just want to share my experience with you.


It happened when I had my first baby 6 years ago. My doctor realised he had a thick nuchal pad at 12 weeks (yes, 12 weeks), and she said it could happen in such an early stage, and suggested to look at it again on the next visit to see if the measurement had gone down. So one month later, it got even thicker, so she referred me to do a detailed scan with another doctor who had better ultrasound equipment. The measurement at the scan showed that it was at the "borderline", could be ok, could be not, needed to wait for another scan for more accurate result... me and my husband couldn't wait any longer, so we decided to go for an amniocentesis. It came out negative for the Down's, but needed to wait for 2 more weeks for the complete analysis - two weeks later, it was found out that my boy had a chromosome deletion, and it was not inherited from either one of the parents. In order to get a third opinion, we went to a genetic professor at the HK University to have a final scan, we saw not only the nuchal pad, but the brain was also swollened, and there was a hole at the diaphram which made other organs misplaced. We were suggested to terminate the pregnancy, and we did before 1 turned 6-month pregnant.


It was a sad experience, but now we have two very healthy and happy boys who are 4 years old and 18 months. All I can say is, find a good doctor and always ask for second or even third opinion. We were so lucky that we came across at least two good doctors at the time.


Hope things turn out to be good, may God bless you.

Dear D&l and choppy, i've been reading this thread with interest and have not responed untill now as i didn't think i could offer any real help.But i had to say something when i saw your post choppy. I really feel for you D&l and was pleased to see you have been offered some positive, constructive advice to help you. I wanted to say to choppy although this isn't my thread and i'm not in this situation the post you wrote was courageous, helpful and so nicely written. I couldn't imagine having to make such a decision and by sharing your story i'm sure it will really benifit D&l. I'm pleased the situation worked out for you and i hope the same comes of yours D&l, my thoughts are with you and your partner.

Thank you for all your advice and comments. Will go and look for 3rd opinion and also a 4D scan.