A 4-day-old female infant with a partially extrathoracic heart in her supraumbilical abdominal wall (Figure 1A) presented with symptoms of tachypnea and mild cyanosis. Physical examination showed a thoracoabdominal wall defect with thoracoabdominal ectopia cordis. The xyphoid was absent and the sternum was short. Oxygen room air saturation was 85%. Chest x-ray showed dextrocardia and descensus ...

Two sib pairs and a fifth child are described with autosomal recessive ectopia lentis et pupillae. Patients with this disorder need regular ophthalmic review, but do not have the skeletal and metabolic complications associated with other syndromes with ectopia lentis.

A 4-day-old female infant with a partially extrathoracic heart in her supraumbilical abdominal wall (Figure 1A) presented with symptoms of tachypnea and mild cyanosis. Physical examination showed a thoracoabdominal wall defect with thoracoabdominal ectopia cordis. The xyphoid was absent and the sternum was short. Oxygen room air saturation was 85%. Chest x-ray showed dextrocardia and descensus ...

Total bifid sternum with or without ectopia cordis is a rare congenital anomaly which is treated successfully in a limited number of cases. Several methods of correction have been described using tissue grafts (cartilage, bone), inert artificial prostheses (acrylic plaques, marlex mesh), and techniques to approximate the sternal bands by relaxation of costal cartilages. In our case the method d...