Cloacal exstrophy: a report of 34 cases

A clinical review is presented on 34 patients with cloacal exstrophy who were seen between 1963 and 1986. The patients were separated into 2 main groups: classical cloacal exstrophy (type I) and variant cloacal exstrophy (type II). In the classical cases 3 surface patterns were recognized: A-hemibladders confluent cranial to the bowel, B-hemibladders lateral to the bowel and C-hemibladders confluent caudal to the bowel. Surgical reconstruction was performed in 24 patients, with a 50 per cent survival rate. However, there was marked improvement in survival from 22 per cent between 1963 and 1978 to 90 per cent between 1979 and 1986.