Congenital abdominal wall defects

Abstract

Congenital abdominal wall defects are a number of different conditions that have in common an abnormal development of the abdominal wall during embryonic and fetal development, due to a variety of causes. as a consequence, intraabdominal organs are herniated in different grades, being content in a hernia sac or not, depending on the type of anomaly. the most severe forms require prompt neonatal support and different surgical approaches. Whereas the milder forms such as umbilical hernia may not require any intervention at all. in this paper we review the most important features of congenital abdominal wall defects with special interest in their diagnosis, management and follow-up.