Diagnosis of omphalocele in a Toggenburg goat fetus during pregnancy

Multiple ovulation embryo transfer was performed on a 5 year old Toggenburg donor doe. Washed and trypsin-treated fresh embryos were transferred into 4 primiparous Toggenburg does. Pregnancy was confirmed via transabdominal ultrasonography at day 33 of pregnancy. Does were regularly monitored throughout pregnancy. A doe that received 3 embryos, lost 1 in embryo and 1 fetal (male fetus) stages, respectively, and gave birth to 1 live kid. At day 61, transabdominal ultrasonography of this male fetus identified an umbilical abnormality that was monitored until its death at day 104 of pregnancy. This male fetus was delivered as a mummified fetus with its unaffected, full term twin at day 149 of pregnancy. Omphalocele was diagnosed in this male fetus, based on ultrasonographic findings of a ventral abdominal wall defect with herniation of abdominal viscera into umbilical cord base. At parturition, an abdominal wall defect was apparent, but omphalocele was no longer observable, due to fetal autolysis. Significant postmortem findings included a multivessel umbilical cord, concurrent mummification and maceration of affected fetus, long bone abnormalities, and cleft palate. Infectious causes of caprine abortion were ruled out. This case demonstrates practitioner’s ability to diagnose umbilical defects, including omphalocele, using transabdominal ultrasonography during routine pregnancy diagnosis. Transabdominal ultrasonography can identify omphalocele’s bilaminar sac presence to distinguish omphalocele from gastroschisis, which has similar appearance. This sac may tear prenatally or during delivery, making perinatal differentiation of these 2 conditions more challenging.

Keywords: Omphalocele, mummification, maceration, pregnancy, umbilicus

This manuscript was originally published in the journal Clinical Theriogenology Vol 12(3) Sept 2020.  Clinical Theriogenology is the official journal of the Society for Theriogenology (SFT) and the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT).  This content has been reproduced on the IVIS website with the explicit permission of the SFT/ACT.