Small-for-Date Newborn (Gastroschisis)

1-day-old girl which is small for date. Multiple intestinal loops are lying on the right side of the umbilical cord running to the left side which lie on the abdominal wall as well as beside the newborn. The head is relatively large in comparison to the trunk, and there are skin folds of the thighs. The diagnosis is gastroschisis. The newborn has signs of a small-for-date patient, such as small body length and weight, and insufficiently developed subcutaneous fatty tissue which is often observed in gastroschisis. The intestine has suffered from moving unrestrained within the amniotic cavity during pregnancy: It is dilated, seems to be short, and has greenish coats besides an edema of the wall; therefore, the motorial and secretory activity starts only slowly after birth. This patient is introduced here to illustrate cleary the difference between the following cases with omphalocele.