Treatments for Omphalocele in Children
How is an omphalocele treated?
It depends on the size and severity of your child's omphalocele.
- "Small" omphalocele- Shortly after birth, an operation is done to return your baby's organs to the abdomen and close the opening in the abdominal wall.
- "Large" omphalocele - The repair is done in "stages" and may include the following:
- Sterile, protective sheeting is placed over your baby's abdominal organs.
- Because the abdomen may be small and underdeveloped, it may not be able to hold all of it gains at once.
- Therefore, the exposed organs are gradually moved back into the abdomen over several days or weeks.
- The abdominal wall is closed surgically once it gains have been returned to the abdominal cavity.
Because the abdominal cavity may be small and underdeveloped, and t gains may be swollen, a baby may have breathing difficulties as t gains are returned to the abdomen. Your baby may need help from a breathing machine called a mechanical ventilator while the swelling is decreasing and the size of the abdominal cavity is increasing.
What is the long-term outlook for a baby born with an omphalocele?
Babies who have damage to the intestines or other abdominal organs may have long-term problems with digestion, elimination, and infection.
Whether your baby has problems in the future often depends on:
- the size of the omphalocele
- if there was a loss of blood flow to part of the intestine or other organs
- the extent of other abnormalities
Your baby's physician will best be able to give you an accurate prognosis.