Abstract
Gastroschisis is a very frequent congenital defect. Given their incidence (that of 1 : 5,800), abdominal wall defects should be twice as common for the pediatric surgeon than, for example, esophageal atresia.
Gastroschisis is usually not associated with the presence of chromosomal and structural malformations, except for intestinal atresias. Plastic closure of the defect tends to be easier than in omphalocele.
In large gastroschisis, a nonviolent reduction of bowel loops and a multistage defect closure (the silo technique, a synthetic patch) are preferred. Complete functional recovery of a prenatally damaged intestine and transition to full oral intake remains a therapeutic challenge.
We present a case report of a newborn with gastroschisis hospitalized at our facility.