DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sasjs.2026.v12i08.005

Pages: 666-669

Conservative management by escharification remains a relevant strategy for the treatment of unruptured omphaloceles in resource-limited settings. This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Albert Royer Children's Hospital in Dakar between December 2012 and December 2020. It included 83 cases of unruptured type I and type II omphaloceles, according to the Aitken classification, treated exclusively with topical application of 2% aqueous disodium eosin twice weekly until complete epithelialization. The mean age at admission was 2.3 days, with a male-to-female ratio of 0.8. Prenatal diagnosis was established in only 30.1% of cases, and type I omphalocele accounted for 65.1% of the cohort. Associated malformations included minor cardiac defects in 34.9% of patients and six syndromic cases, all of whom died before epithelialization. Complete epithelialization was achieved in 77 patients, with a mean time to epithelialization of 33.5 days in non-infected patients. Local infection occurred in 25.3% of cases and had a favorable outcome in all patients. Abdominal wall repair was performed in 76 children at a mean age of 18.1 months. Rectus abdominis diastasis was observed in 20.4% of type I cases and 90.1% of type II cases. Cosmetic outcomes, assessed by parents using a Likert scale, were considered satisfactory in 41.3% of cases. This experience demonstrates that escharification with aqueous eosin remains a valid treatment option in resource-limited settings, providing promising long-term outcomes.