1. Multidisciplinary surgical approach to a surviving infant with sirenomelia
- Author
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Messineo, Antonio, Innocenti, Marco, Gelli, Riccardo, Pancani, Simone, Lo Piccolo, Roberto, and Martin, Alessandra
- Subjects
Ectromelia -- Risk factors ,Ectromelia -- Care and treatment - Abstract
Sirenomelia is an extremely complex and rare malformation with different degrees of lower-extremities fusion associated with gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, vascular, cardiopulmonary, and central nervous system malformations. In the English literature, there are only 5 reports of infants surviving with this condition. In our case, a 2540-g female infant was born with normal vital signs, no facial dysmorphism, and a complete soft tissue fusion of the lower limbs, from perineum to ankles. Radiologic examinations revealed an intestinal atresia and a single pelvic kidney, with a unique ureter, 2 femurs, 2 tibias, 2 fibulas, and 2 feet (simpus dipus). At 7 months of age, a multidisciplinary surgical team achieved complete separation of the lower limbs, with independent vascular and nerve supplies. At the time of this writing, the infant was 28 months old and had a regular growth curve. Many future reconstructive surgeries have been planned to achieve an acceptable quality of life for this infant. KEYWORDS. mermaid syndrome, sirenomelia. PEDIATRICS 2006;118:e220-e223. URL: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2005-3001
- Published
- 2006