During the birth of a girl at 38 weeks of gestation via Cesarean section in a Chinese clinic, medical staff discovered signs of severe swelling and cyanosis in the infant's left arm.
Previously, during an ultrasound examination conducted at 28 weeks of pregnancy, an edematous condition of the soft tissues of the arm was identified without a known cause. The mother had experience with two previous pregnancies, neither of which reached term after 20 weeks; no prenatal intrauterine procedures were performed during the current pregnancy.
Examination of the newborn revealed edema, cyanosis, and limited mobility of the left arm, shoulder, and part of the chest. Two areas where the tissues were constricted were found at the wrist level and in the proximal part of the arm.
Doctors Yao Lu and Lizhun Lin from Zhujiang Hospital presented this clinical case in the scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine.