Contemporary trends in the use of primary repair for gastroschisis in surgical infants.

Background: Gastroschisis is a newborn anomaly requiring emergent surgical intervention. We review our experience with gastroschisis to examine trends in contemporary surgical management.

Methods: Infants who underwent initial surgical management of gastroschisis from 1996 to 2014 at a pediatric hospital were reviewed. Closure techniques included primary fascial repair using suture or sutureless umbilical closure, and staged repair using sutured or spring-loaded silo (SLS). Data were separated into 3 clinical eras: pre-SLS (1996 to 2004), SLS (2005 to 2008), and umbilical closure (2009 to 2014).

Results: In the pre-SLS era, 60% (34/57) of infants with gastroschisis underwent primary repair. With the advent of SLS, there was a decrease in primary repair (15%, 10/68, P < .0001). Following introduction of sutureless umbilical closure, 61% (47/77) of infants have undergone primary repair. On multivariate regression, primary repair was associated with shorter intensive care unit stays (P < .001) and time to initiate enteral nutrition (P < .01).

Conclusions: Following introduction of a less invasive technique for gastroschisis repair, most infants with gastroschisis were able to be repaired primarily. Primary repair should be considered in all babies with gastroschisis and favorable anatomy.