AN OMPHALOCELE is a congential anomaly that is occasionally seen. Some authors¹ have estimated the incidence as being 1 in 5,000 births. This ratio means, in itself, that the presence of a true omphalocele is a relatively rare surgical condition. It is probably true that up until the past several decades a number of infants with omphaloceles were allowed to die without surgical intervention or, if an attempt were directed toward surgical correction, it was unsuccessful and the termination was fatal. Even though the number of omphaloceles seen by any one surgeon or by a clinic is relatively small, emphasis should be placed on the correct surgical management of the condition when it does present itself.

Up until the time that Ladd and Gross² first published their report of a series of omphaloceles the condition has been designated by a number of terms, which only led to a