The giant umbilical cord

Giant umbilical cord in a normal preterm infant: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Giant umbilical cord, defined as a cord diameter of more than 5 cm, is an extremely rare malformation. There are few case reports of giant umbilical cord often associated with patent urachus duct or cystic malformation. These cases are usually managed by surgical excision and repair of patent urachus or cyst resection.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report the case of a 1-day-old Iranian boy with giant umbilical cord detected postnatally. The pregnancy course was uneventful, except for preterm premature rupture of the membrane and preterm delivery. There was no relevant family history. The patient was delivered by vaginal delivery with a good Apgar score. On clinical examination, the umbilical cord was very thick (about 6 cm in diameter), and huge fluctuating Wharton's jelly was observed. Other organs were normal. During the hospital stay, the patient did not develop any complications except borderline hyperbilirubinemia, which improved with conventional phototherapy. Since the umbilical cord had no discharge and was dried, the newborn was discharged with advice for cord drying care.

CONCLUSION

The newborn was well, and the dried umbilical stump was detached after 32 days, leaving a granulomatous structure without discharge. The patient was followed up for 4.5 months and had no problems except delayed separation of the umbilical cord.

Abnormal appearance of the umbilicus: an indicator of urachal anomalies

The urachus is an intra-abdominal fibrous remnant of the allantois. The non-involution of the allantois can result in urachal anomalies. The abnormal appearance of the umbilicus may be a sign of such anomalies. We have observed 3 cases of term neonates with atypical appearance of the umbilical stump, all of which manifested urachal anomalies, as documented by ultrasound scan. These appearances are rarely described in the literature, and seem to regress at around 2 months. Therefore, it is important that healthcare professionals should be aware of the possible implications of atypical umbilical stumps, evaluate each case accordingly and, if an urachal anomaly is diagnosed, refer the patient to a paediatric surgery centre, as such malformations carry an underlying risk of infection or malignancy.

Megacystis associated with an umbilical cord cyst: a sonographic feature of a patent urachus in the first trimester

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this series was to report the first-trimester sonographic findings, antenatal course, and outcome in fetuses with a patent urachus.

METHODS

We conducted a review of ultrasound reports and medical charts from 3 pregnancies complicated by a congenital patent urachus detected in the first trimester.

RESULTS

All 3 fetuses had megacystis and an umbilical cord cyst close to the fetal abdominal insertion that was detected in the first trimester. In 2 cases, the megacystis resolved spontaneously while the umbilical cord cyst worsened in appearance; among them, massive edema of the umbilical cord was documented in 1, and evidence of partial bladder exstrophy was detected in the third trimester in the other. Both cases required neonatal surgery with no complications. In the remaining case, the fetus died in the early second trimester. Postmortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of a patent urachus, an allantoic cyst, and thrombosis of the umbilical vessels.

CONCLUSIONS

Megacystis is a warning sign of a patent urachus in the first trimester. The prognosis of this condition is generally good; however, fetal death can occur secondary to compression of umbilical vessels due to the expanding allantoic cyst.

The umbilical mass: a rare neonatal anomaly

Umbilical anomalies are a rare presentation in the pediatric patient. The differential diagnosis includes anomalies resulting from urachal and vitelline duct derivatives such as urachal sinus, urachal cyst, urachal diverticulum, patent urachus, herniated Meckel's diverticulum, umbilico-enteric fistula, or umbilical polyp. In this article, a case presentation of an umbilical anomaly along with the differential diagnosis and management options are discussed. Based upon this review of the literature, the authors propose a management algorithm for treating children with umbilical anomalies.