How is cloacal exstrophy managed or treated?

How is cloacal exstrophy managed or treated?

All newborns with cloacal exstrophy need surgery to put their organs into their proper place and close abdominal and spinal openings. Your child will need a series of surgeries over many years. This is known as staged reconstruction.

Treatments soon after birth may include:

• Fixing the bladder, placing organs back into the abdominal cavity and closing the opening in the abdomen.
• Creating a stoma, an opening in the stomach that allows the large intestine to empty stool into a pouch outside the body. A colostomy pouch may be temporary until other surgeries can take place.
• Closing the hole in the spinal cord.

Treatments during early childhood may include:

• Cutting the pelvic bones (bone surgery or osteotomy). This allows the pelvis to close more easily and support the bladder as your child grows.
• Reconstructing the reproductive organs and urinary tract.
• Creating an anal opening. If there’s enough large intestine, your surgeon may perform a procedure called pull-through surgery to connect the large intestine to the rectum. The surgeon then closes the stoma. Your child will no longer need a colostomy pouch.