Panaroma or amniocentesis

ada.kelly

Hi All
I really need some help trying to figure out what the best test for me is, Im 40 years of age and with no major medical issues apart from my Thyroid that is under control. Im having fetal scan/test done because of my age. I am attending the Rotunda in Dublin and have been wrecking my husbands and my head trying to figure out is the best test. Has anyone have these tests done, The one advantage of Panaroma is that is can be done at 10 weeks and is blood test that is sent to America and is 99% accurate, the Amniocentesis is done after 14 weeks and is 100% accurate. My gut is to go for the Panaroma @ €550 but does it give a definite answer as in yes or no there is a defect or is it like a first trimester scan that says high or low risk? Can seem to find the answer anywhere..

Please can someone guide me before I lose my mind :-)

Sligo1

Here's a link for you but I'm sure you've done your research.

https://www.rcsi.ie/obstetrics_gynaecology_patients

Now, personally for me... No matter what age I was I would not get an amniocentesis or cvs done. Although they will give you a definitive answer these are invasive procedures which I'm sure you are aware of and carry a risk to the fetus and possibly causing a miscarriage. I stress this is just my personal opinion that I would not have the procedure done and I'm not trying to scaremonger. It is obviously completely your decision.

If I was of a certain age I personally would get the harmony test done. It is non-invasive and is 99.99% accurate. It is expensive but IMO well worth the money. And the most important thing - it carries no risk to the fetus/baby.

Goodluck and congratulations!

Sligo1

Just to add... I "think" the panorama test gives you a score or risk factor whereas the harmony actually tells you whether the baby has a condition or not. The very best place to get exact information and advice on this would be your obstetrician.

Orobhsa

We recently opted for a panorama at the Rotunda after a worrying 1st trimester screen result. The test takes two blood sample from the mother which are sent to a lab in US for analysis. The results come back as low or high risk for about 5 different chromosomal abnormalities. If I remember correctly low risk means a risk of 1:10,000 or less. It’s not a yes / no answer but claims to be > 99 % accurate for some conditions

One thing to note is that as the analysis is based on fetal DNA circulating in the mothers blood if not enough fetal DNA is present in the samples then no result will be given, I believe there is a 1:20 chance of no result. In which case it is necessary to redraw blood and perform the analysis again.

Result take up to 10 working days.

There is info here -
http://www.panoramatest.com/en/expecting-mother/#compare

Due to their nature I don’t think either Panorama or Haramony give a yes / no answer. CVS or Amino will but there is the additional risk associated with extracting fetal DNA.

otwb

We had panorama done - on a light note if you go down this route then have a discussion as to whether you want to know the sex of the baby before you have the bloods done. We hadn't thought about it and it led to a quick call from the office while the nurse was actually taking the bloods!

The main thing that you need to consider and the one that our consultant pointed out - is if the results show up anything then what would you do? This has a bearing on whether there is any benefit from the tests at all and is something that you need to discuss with your partner before doing any tests at all (nuchal, panorama, amnio).

As other posters have said, it's two blood tests and you get a risk ratio back rather than a definite yes/no. If it does come back high risk then you can go for the Amnio for a definitive answer - low risk puts your mind at ease. I just remember thinking 'Right - X amount of things that are low liklihood, and another billion things that could go wrong so no point worrying!'

Best of luck with the pregnancy.