image by: Omphalocele / Exomphalos Awareness

HWN Suggests

Time to Share: My “false diagnosis of an omphalocele” story…

We were told that our baby potentially had a birth defect called an Omphalocele. An Omphalocele is when the intestines or other abdominal organs are forming outside the infant’s body d1ue to a hole in their belly button area. We left the doctor’s that day completely numb and told not to google anything. YEAH right! They didn’t realize that googling is my thing, I have to be in the “know” about everything before I do it, buy, try it, visit it, whatever “it” is I google “it”. After reading more in-depth about what an omphalocele actually was I, frantically began googling the internet for anybody who could give me some type of reassurance that our baby would 1. make it to 39-40 weeks, 2. survive…

read full article

Featured

 Omphalocele

Omphalocele and gastroschisis are significant abdominal wall defects with a combined incidence of 1:2000 to 1:4000 live births. Omphalocele is the herniation of abdominal contents in the midline, composed primarily of midgut. The herniated gut often occurs with associated herniation of the liver, in a hernia sac protruding through the midline defect.

Previously Featured

Abdominal Wall Defects

Midline abdominal wall defect characterized by eviscerated abdominal contents covered by a protective sac. Occurs most commonly at the base of the umbilical stalk.

2-year-old had ‘one of the largest omphaloceles many of us had ever seen’

Everly was born full-term in February, 2020. She had what was classified as a giant omphalocele, which was larger than her head and continued to grow. At its peak, it was larger than her entire torso. Giant omphaloceles are associated with high mortality rates and a high risk of severe morbidity.

Congenital Ventral Abdominal Wall Defects (Omphalocele): Safely Inducing Skin Growth

Closing a GO is challenging. Small defects can be closed primarily or with a patch; a GO requires gradual reduction secondary to severe abdominovisceral disproportion. Despite advances, the mortality rate of GO can be up to 25%, and no optimal technique of closure has been established.3 Before 1900, an aggressive surgical approach was utilized, often with poor outcomes due to accompanying comorbidities and abdominovisceral disproportion.

Gastroschisis and Omphalocele

The two most common congenital abdominal wall defects are gastroschisis and omphalocele. Both involve incomplete closure of the abdominal wall during fetal development, and for both, their cause is unknown. A gastroschisis is usually an isolated congenital defect, whereas a baby with an omphalocele often has chromosome anomalies, cardiac conditions, and other major birth defects.

Gastroschisis Vs Omphalocele (Exomphalos)

This condition is caused by an error in the formation of the digestive tract. Over the 6th to 10th weeks of fetal development, the formation of the abdominal cavity is characterised by the normal herniation of the intestines into the umbilical cord, which they recede back into the abdomen as the development continues. However, when that does not happen and the intestines remain in the umbilical cord, the Omphalocele occurs. Other abdominal organs, such as stomach and liver, can also protrude through this opening. Fetuses with omphalocele usually present multiple birth defects, that associated with intrauterine growth retardation can lead to premature birth...

Giant Omphalocele: What's the Way to Go?

Giant omphalocele (GO) represents a challenge for paediatric surgeons. Management of GO has been discussed extensively over the past 50 years but still represents a topic of debate and up to date there is no general consensus.

Omphalocele (Organs outside of body)

Because omphalocele can be associated with other anomalies, doctors will examine your baby thoroughly for any other problems that would require intervention. How well your baby does depends on the presence and severity of related problems and also on the size of the omphalocele.

Omphalocele and gastroschisis

Gastroschisis and omphalocele are congenital defects of the abdominal wall resulting in intestinal herniation from the abdominal cavity. In contrast to omphalocele, there is no sac covering the intestines in gastroschisis. They can both be detected prenatally using fetal ultrasonography. Limited studies have attempted to categorize gastroschisis defects into subsets of simple or complex defects, with simple gastroschisis existing as an isolated defect, and complex gastroschisis occurring with other gastrointestinal anomalies such as intestinal atresia, perforation, necrosis, or volvulus.

Omphalocele – An Early Ventral Wall Defect

Omphalocele, or exomphalos, is the protrusion of internal organs, which may include intestines, liver (when present=giant omphalocele) and other abdominal organs, through the ventral wall of the fetus or infant and covered by a membrane consisting of peritoneum, Wharton’s jelly, and amnion

Omphalocele—What should we tell the prospective parents?

Overall prognosis depends on the size of the omphalocele, genetic studies, and associated anomalies. Early prenatal diagnosis remains important in order to provide parental counseling and assist in pregnancy management. Delivery should occur at a tertiary care center.

What is omphalocele?

Omphalocele is a rare birth defect that occurs in 1 in 4,000 — 7,000 live births. It is a type of abdominal wall defect in which the bowel, liver and other abdominal organs extend into the abdomen near the base of the umbilical cord.

Which Is Worse, Omphalocele or Gastroschisis?

Omphalocele (exomphalos) is a birth defect in which an infant’s intestines, liver, or other organs protrude outside the abdomen through the belly button. The organs are covered in a thin, nearly transparent sac that is usually not open or broken. An omphalocele often occurs along with other birth defects (such as heart defects and kidney defects) and some genetic syndromes (such as Down syndrome, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome).

“We Have Seen Many Miracles . . . ” the Healing Journey for a Baby With Omphalocele

We were at a routine pregnancy check-up to listen to our baby's heartbeat and find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Instead, we learned a new word that was scary and heart breaking. The word was Omphalocele. Omphalocele is an abdominal wall defect where organs from the abdomen form outside the body in the umbilical cord. Omphalocele is often associated with other birth defects including heart and lung defects and other associated syndromes.

Resources

Omphalocele / Exomphalos Awareness

Helping people understand the condition and connect with other.

MOO -- Mothers Of Omphaloceles

The history: MOOs (Mothers of Omphaloceles), was created in January of 1999. Three moms found each other via a website created about one family's omphalocele journey. They started meeting in a Yahoo Group to utilize the chat function and discuss their experiences!

TeachMePaediatrics

Omphaloceles are 4-12 cm abdominal wall defects, located centrally within the umbilical cord. Due to the presence of protective membranes surrounding the herniated gut contents (peritoneum and amnion), the intestines are usually healthy at delivery.

Fetal Health Foundation

Omphalocele treatment plans depend on the number of organs involved and how much of those organs remain outside of the belly at birth. If only parts of the intestines are protruding, surgeons return them to the abdomen soon after birth and close the opening in the abdominal wall.

CDC

If the omphalocele is small (only some of the intestine is outside of the belly), it usually is treated with surgery soon after birth to put the intestine back into the belly and close the opening. If the omphalocele is large (many organs outside of the belly), the repair might be done in stages.

Lifespan.org

Omphaloceles come in all sizes: they may only contain one or two small loops of intestine and resemble an umbilical hernia, or they may be much larger and contain most of the liver. These are called “giant” omphalocele and are more difficult to treat.

Radiopaedia

Some suggest that the formation of an omphalocele may be due to the failure of the medial segments of the two lateral embryonic wall folds to fuse at approximately 3-4 weeks post conception. This defect at the umbilical ring allows the abdominal content to herniate into a sac comprised of an outer layer of amnion and an inner layer of peritoneum and often Wharton's jelly

StatPearls

Gastroschisis is the main differential diagnosis of omphalocele. In gastroschisis, the intestinal protrusion is usually to the right of the midline, and there is no involvement of the umbilical cord. The membranous sac is a major distinguishing feature of the two conditions as gastroschisis is characterized by free-floating bowel loops, but in the case of a giant omphalocele, the membrane can occasionally rupture in-utero.