Sirenomelia in a Nigerian triplet: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, is a very rare fatal congenital abnormality in which the legs are fused together, giving them the appearance of a mermaid's tail. It is commonly associated with abnormal kidney development, genital and rectal abnormalities. A handful of cases have been reported in other parts of the world, however, no cases have previously been reported in a Nigerian neonate. To the best of our knowledge, we believe that this is the first case reported from West Africa and in a triplet.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 16-hour-old baby boy, the second of a set of Nigerian triplets, presented to our facility with fusion of the entire lower limbs, imperforate anus, indiscernible genital structures, single umbilical artery and a neural tube defect. His parents were from the Hausa ethnic group and not related.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Sirenomelia has not been previously described in a set of triplets, and it is hoped that this report from West Africa will give information about the non-racial predilection of this condition.</p

Posterior mediastinal hemangioma

We report posterior mediastinal hemangiomas in a 4-month-old and a 6-month-old girl. The masses were identified on radiographs of the chest followed by contrast-enhanced CT. Histological evaluation of the surgical specimens established the final diagnosis. Although mediastinal hemangiomas have been described, they remain a rare entity. A diagnosis can be suggested by relatively high attenuating masses on contrast-enhanced CT. Posterior mediastinal hemangiomas sometimes mimic neuroblastomas, which is the most common posterior mediastinal in this age group.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46716/1/247_2005_Article_1571.pd