How is omphalocele differentiated from gastroschisis in congenital abdominal hernias?

Lenin

Deepesh 1

@lenin An omphalocele is characterized by extension of viscera from the abdominal cavity into the umbilical stalk, with the contents covered by a translucent, bilaminar sac consisting of fused amnion and peritoneum. On occasion, the sac tears prenatally or during delivery, thus becoming harder to identify. The underlying abdominal wall defect exceeds 4 cm. The umbilical vessels insert onto the sac and travel along its left superior aspect to the abdominal wall.

On the other hand, gastroschisis is present when midgut viscera protrude through a central abdominal fascial defect and are not covered by a sac. In this case, the extracorporeal viscera are exposed to the amniotic fluid in utero or to the atmosphere postnatally. The responsible fascial defect is usually less than 4 cm and is almost always immediately to the right and inferior to the umbilicus.