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14 minutes ago

Artificial Intelligence Advances Eye Disease Diagnosis: Deep Learning Shows Promise in Distinguishing Thyroid Eye Disease from Orbital Myositis bit.ly/4rnr3Wg Read now at PatientWorthy.com
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Patient Worthy

15 hours ago

The TAPS Support Foundation - Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤: 𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬

Vascular anastomoses are a normal feature of monochorionic twin pregnancies. They form during placental development, when the twins’ blood vessels grow close enough to connect. These connections are expected in a shared placenta and, on their own, do not mean that something is wrong.

What matters is how these connections function. Some anastomoses allow blood to move in both directions and remain balanced over time. Others allow blood to flow mainly one way. When this happens, differences can slowly develop between the twins in blood volume, oxygen delivery, and growth.

Conditions such as TTTS and TAPS are not caused by the presence of anastomoses but by how blood moves through them. In TTTS, larger connections can lead to shifts in blood volume and amniotic fluid. In TAPS, tiny connections allow slow, ongoing blood transfer that changes hemoglobin levels without obvious fluid differences. These changes can be subtle and may develop gradually.

This is part of why monochorionic care pays so much attention to blood flow and patterns over time, not just one snapshot. The placenta is active, and what is happening within it can shift as the pregnancy goes on.

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