Ectopia Cordis is a prenatal malformation in which the heart develops outside of the thorax, alongside locations such as the chest, neck, or abdomen. This genetic disorder surfaces during the second trimester of pregnancy, and is discerned through an ultrasound. Abott was the first to discover Ectopia Cordis in 1898. The symptoms resulting from Ectopia Cordis include malformation of the heart, a cleft palate, spinal defects, and pulmonary atresia, or underdevelopment of the pulmonary valve. Depending on the position of the heart, Ectopia Cordis can be classified into five categories:
Cervical: The heart is located in the neck with the sternum
Thoracocervical: The heart is partially in the cervix, but sections of the sternum are split.
Thoracic: The sternum is completely split, while the heart lies either completely or partially outside the thorax.
Thoracoabdominal: A part of Cantrell's syndrome.
Abdominal: The heart enters abdominal cavity after passing through a defect in the diaphragm. …show more content…
Only 8 out of one million babies are born with the congenital disorder, however nearly ninety percent of these babies are stillborn or pass away within the first several days postpartum. While there is currently no prevalent treatment for the disorder, chest wall reconstructions have taken place, despite the poor success rate. In spite of the high mortality percentage, a man by the name of Chris Wall was reported on his 34th birthday as the oldest known survivor on August 18th, 2009. Wall was able to defy the odds when doctors successfully repositioned his heart into his chest cavity. Chris Wall was faced with various complex surgical procedures, but they paid off, as he now has the opportunity to live in normalcy, even without a
Cervical: The heart is located in the neck with the sternum
Thoracocervical: The heart is partially in the cervix, but sections of the sternum are split.
Thoracic: The sternum is completely split, while the heart lies either completely or partially outside the thorax.
Thoracoabdominal: A part of Cantrell's syndrome.
Abdominal: The heart enters abdominal cavity after passing through a defect in the diaphragm. …show more content…
Only 8 out of one million babies are born with the congenital disorder, however nearly ninety percent of these babies are stillborn or pass away within the first several days postpartum. While there is currently no prevalent treatment for the disorder, chest wall reconstructions have taken place, despite the poor success rate. In spite of the high mortality percentage, a man by the name of Chris Wall was reported on his 34th birthday as the oldest known survivor on August 18th, 2009. Wall was able to defy the odds when doctors successfully repositioned his heart into his chest cavity. Chris Wall was faced with various complex surgical procedures, but they paid off, as he now has the opportunity to live in normalcy, even without a