Exomphalos and gastroschisis: a 10-year review

Ninety-six cases of exomphalos or gastroschisis managed at The children's Hospital, Sheffield, during the period 1964-74 are analysed. There were 306 cases with minor lesions, 30 with major lesions, 27 with a ruptured exomphalos and only 3 with gastroschisis. The overall mortality rate was 46-9 percent. Survival could be closely correlated with the birth weight, the nature of the primary lesion, the presence or absence of liver within the sac and the presence and severity of associated congenital anomalies. A "scoring system" based on these criteria is proposed to predict the prognosis of an infant with an exomphalos.