Surgical Treatment of the Newborn With Thoracoshisis

Abstract

The article presents a case of successful surgical treatment of the newborn with a rare congenital pathology – thoracoschisis. The newborn had been transferred urgently 6 hours after birth from the perinatal center. The initial examination revealed a chest defect measuring 6×3×3 cm in size and located along the midclavicular line from the 4th to 6th ribs through which the additional lobe of the liver prolapsed (Riedel’s lobe). After examination and preoperative preparation, 17 hours after birth, a surgical treatment was carried out – moving the liver to the abdominal cavity, closing defects of the diaphragm and thorax. In the postoperative period, serous pericarditis developed, requiring puncture and pericardial drainage. On the 21st day of life the child was transferred to the somatic hospital in a satisfactory condition. Observations conducted over the two years after the operation indicated the child's satisfactory condition, and revealed no complaints. The extreme rarity of this pathology causes certain difficulties in determining the appropriate treatment strategies, and concomitant congenital malformations contribute to high mortality.