Sirenomelia
What are the other Names for this condition? (also known as / synonyms)
• Mermaid Syndrome
• Sirenomelia Sequence
• Midline Disorder
• Sirenomelus
What is it? (Definition/Background information)
• Sirenomelia is a birth defect that causes the legs to fuse together. This medical condition of malformation varies from person to person and occurs 1 in every 70,000 to 100,000 births. Fetus usually dies in the womb, during birth or usually right after birth.
Who gets it? (Age and Sex Distribution)
• Developing fetus of both genders
What are the Risk Factors? (Predisposing factors)
• A normal fetus has two arteries and one vein. However, fetus with Sirenomelia only has one umbilical artery and one vein, which unfortunately will contribute to the improper growth.
What are the Causes? (Etiology)
• Currently there is no known cause. However, researchers, scientists as well as doctors believe that a vitelline umbilical artery is a possible factor that can contribute to Sirenomelia.
What are the Signs and Symptoms?
• Fused legs or absent of foot structures
• Abnormal kidney
• Vertebral abnormality
• Absent of genital
• Incomplete or underdevelopment of reproductive system
How is it Diagnosed?
• Usually before birth, around the second trimester, doctors can diagnose Sirenomelia through ultrasound or sonogram
• Immediately after being born, doctors can tell if the baby has Sirenomelia through physical observation
What are the possible Complications?
The severity of Sirenomelia varies among individual. Many babies die during birth and those live can face long-term effects including:
• Renal problems such as kidney failure or absent of either one or both kidneys
• Cardiovascular problems such as Heart proble...
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..., born in 2004, is currently living in Peru. She was born with normal hearts and lungs. She underwent numerous surgeries such as kidney transplant, leg separation and organ reconstruction. When she was just 3 months, doctors operated on her lower extremity for the first time. With each operation, doctors hope to bring her a better and happier lifestyle.
• Tiffany Yorks was born in 1988 with a heart defect and kidney problems. When she was about a month old, she received 2 surgeries for her leg separations. She went through multiple surgeries for reconstruction of her legs and feet. Surgeons are also planning operations to create her bladder and rectum. Tiffany is now married and can participate in many activities like swimming and dancing. However, she sometimes has to use a wheelchair or a walker to move around. She is currently the longest survivor of Sirenomelia.
During pregnancy an echocardiogram of the fetus can be done to produce images of the heart by sending ultrasonic sound waves to the vital organ. These sound waves create an image for the physician to analyze the babies heart function, structure sizes, and blood flow. A positive diagnosis before birth has shown to improve chances of survival, and will allow for appropriate care to be readily available at birth. If a baby is born without being diagnosed with the heart defect, some symptoms previous noted such as low oxygen levels can be suggestive of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The baby may not display any symptoms or signs for hours after birth because of the openings allowing for blood to be pumped to the rest of the body. However, listening to the babies heart can revel a murmur indicating an irregular flow of blood in the heart. If a murmur is heard, or signs of the defect are observed, diagnostic tests will be ordered and performed. An echocardiogram is still the go-to test once the baby is born to evaluate the heart. The echocardiogram will diagnose the newborn, by revealing the underdeveloped left ventricle, mitral and aortic valve, and the ascending aorta commonly seen in
Most serious structure with regards to Osteogenesis Imperfecta , the greater part of these cases are endless in great conditions, which means the vast majority of the cases wind up in premature birth by the guardians or unnatural birth cycle by nature . In any case, a portion of the uncommon cases that do survive present breathing challenges much of the time deadly at or soon after birth, regularly because of respiratory
It is the condition associated with severe mental disability and physical abnormalities in many parts of the body. Individuals with trisomy 13 often have many abnormalities that can be major or minor in the development of a child in the womb. Due to the life-threatening medical problems, many children born with trisomy 13 die within the first few weeks or days after they are born. Only a few of children with this condition live past their first year after they are born. The condition is very difficult to discover until a child is born.
By the time she was only 38 years old, she was homebound and bedridden for the remainder of her life. Determined and dedicated as ever to improve health care and reduce patients suffering, she continued her work from her bed (Florence Bio).
A few months ago, she was diagnosed with leukemia and has been receiving Chemotherapy. The doctors have confessed that the Chemo has not had any impact, and found a donor match for a bone marrow transplant.
Girls with this syndrome may have many middle ear infections during childhood; if not treated, these chronic infections could cause hearing loss. Up to the age of about 2 years, growth in height is approximately normal, but then it lags behind that of other girls. Greatly reduced growth in height of a female child should lead to a chromosome test if no diagnosis has already been made. Early diagnosis is very importance in order to be able to give enough correct information to the parents, and gradually to the child herself, so that she has the best possibilities for development. Early diagnosis is also important in case surgical treatment of the congenital heart defect (seen in about 20 per cent of cases) is indicated.
This occurs when the fetal head is in the wrong position. It can also be caused by damage to the muscles of the neck or the neck of the blood supply problems.
This can be diagnosed during the pregnancy or after the baby is born. “Anencephaly would result in an abnormal result on a blood or serum screening test or it might be seen during an ultrasound.” This birth defect is more common in girls than boys. There is also no cure or standard treatment since most die shortly after birth. As a way to offer support to these families, many hospitals offer perinatal hospice care. A perinatal hospice approach helps these families through the process: pregnancy, birth, and death. ("Facts about
Pregnant women have to be careful while pregnant. They have to watch out for various speed bumps. There are tons of toxins that can hurt the baby in the womb. The mother is responsible for most of these, after all she is the one who is carrying the baby. Many of these factors can result in death. It is really sad that it has to end that way some of the time. The worst toxins for a baby to encounter while in the mother’s uterus are different types of drugs and alcohol. Those two things can could serious problems for the infant once it gets into their system. They enter into the baby’s bloodstream from the mother, and cause problems from there on out.
• At the age of 8 she was accidentally shot in the eye by her brother and was blinded on one eye until she the age of 14 when she got an operation and regained some of her sight.
19. Benn PA, Borgida A, Horne D, Briganti S, Collins R, Rodis J. Down syndrome and neural tube defect screening: the value of using gestational age by ultrasonography. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1997;176:1056–61.
There is also a high-resolution ultrasound scanning that can detect chromosomal and physical abnormalities in the first trimester as opposed to the second trimester. A technology such as this can create many ethical problems. Mcfadyen describes the biggest problem as being informed consent. “They may believe that it will provide information only about gestational age and be unaware of the range of abnormalities that can be detected. Recent research suggests that many women are not told beforehand of the first scan’s potential to detect fetal anomalies.”
When she went into surgery in St. John’s Medical Center in St. Louis, we were all there and confidant that everything would go as planned. The doctors came out about one hour into the surgery to inform us that the damage was much worse than they initially thought. They told us that they would keep us updated on her progress. Two hours later they came out to tell us that her heart stopped beating and they tried everything they could to revive her, but she had died.
exact cause, but most researchers will agree that it could be influenced by timing of pregnancy,