One baby's omphalocele and yesterday's story of trauma.

What a cutie pie!
The nurses here will be changing the gauze on this little one's omphalocele daily.

A few weeks ago, this baby was born and we brought him to the main hospital in Cap-Haitien thinking he would receive surgery. We placed a sterile saline dressing on this baby's abdomen with plastic wrap over it to keep it moist. I was surprised yesterday to see this baby in the clinic and decided to take these pictures. This condition is called an omphalocele.

According to PubMed, "an omphalocele is a birth defect in which the infant's intestine or other abdominal organs stick out of the belly button (navel). In babies with an omphalocele, the intestines are covered only by a thin layer of tissue and can be easily seen." It is not uncommon for this condition to be accompanied by other birth defects, so I hope to see this baby often in the clinic so I can check on him.

Wish I had the "man-made" cover for this baby omphalocele, as mentioned in the PubMed article.

You might ask, "How is this dealt with?" The following is an excerpt from PubMed: 

Omphaloceles are repaired with surgery, although not always immediately. A sac protects the abdominal contents and allows time for other more serious problems (such as heart defects) to be dealt with first, if necessary.

To fix an omphalocele, the sac is covered with a special man-made material, which is then stitched in place. Slowly, over time, the abdominal contents are pushed into the abdomen.

When the omphalocele can comfortably fit within the abdominal cavity, the man-made material is removed and the abdomen is closed.

Sometimes the omphalocele is so large that it cannot be placed back inside the infant's abdomen. The skin around the omphalocele grows and eventually covers the omphalocele. The abdominal muscles and skin can be repaired when the child is older to achieve a better cosmetic outcome.

This baby is breastfeeding and producing diapers with both pee and poo. That's a good sign!

Here's an example of a tap-tap which is the mode of transport for many Haïtians here. Many people use motorcyles and I have even seen a mom carrying her baby while she sat on the back. There are no traffic signals and the roads are in horrible condition with many potholes. Thus, we see a lot of motorcycle accident victims. Yesterday evening, I was asked to bring the ambulance to the hospital and  we quickly rushed a little girl, about 8 years old to Justinian hospital in Cap-Haitien. She was bleeding from her ears and nose. I was very concerned she might stop breathing on the way. It was dark in the ambulance and I could barely see to adjust her IVF's.  My attempt to feel her chest rise was frequently interrupted by my inability to keep myself seated.  I'm thankful to say she was still breathing when we arrived, but I don't know if she made it. She was unresponsive and her pupils were fixed. Please pray!