Delivery and Treatment of Babies with Omphalocele (7 of 11)

Delivery and treatment for babies with omphalocele depends on the size of the omphalocele and which organs are outside the body. http://fetalsurgery.chop.edu

Experts from the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discuss the differences in treatment and delivery of small, large and giant omphaloceles.

For small to moderate sized omphaloceles, babies often do better with a vaginal delivery. For babies with large or giant omphaloceles that contain a large portion of liver, a planned Cesarean section is the preferred delivery method to minimize the risk of damage to the liver during delivery.

Handling the omphalocele sac carefully is an important part of delivery. Babies with omphalocele also often have small lungs and require breathing assistance from the moment of delivery.

After delivery, babies with small omphaloceles can often go straight to the OR for a primary repair, which means they have one surgery to close the opening. Care of infants with giant omphalocele is more complex as there is often not enough room in the abdomen to fit all the organs. For these babies, a staged repair involving several steps is used to gradually return the abdominal contents to the belly until final closure.