Amniotic band syndrome is an acquired
embryo-fetopathy. It is rare and is characterized by malformations mainly
affecting the limbs but also the skull, face and thoraco-abdominal axis. Its
etiopathogenesis remains poorly understood. Its diagnosis is essentially
clinical and is classically based on the existence of signs such as furrows,
amputations and pseudosyndactyly. To show the importance of antenatal diagnosis
in resource-limited countries, we report the case of two newborns, one
premature at 31 weeks and the other at term, in whom amniotic band syndrome was
discovered incidentally at birth. It involved an amputation of the right leg for
both cases. The premature baby was born in a context of neonatal sepsis and
will succumb to the latter while the 2nd case was released from the hospital
alive. Imaging examinations to search for probable congenital malformations
could only be carried out for the 2nd case and no accessible congenital
malformation had been identified. And as management of the disease, only
psychological support to the parents was provided for the 2 cases. The
antenatal discovery of a case of amniotic band syndrome in countries with low
technical capacity such as Burundi should push clinicians to think in time
about treatment options.
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