Abstract
Omphalocele, or exocelom, is a true congenital umbilical hernia containing intestine or abdominal organs. This condition is said to occur once in 5,000 to 6,000 newborn infants.1 The presence of Meckel's diverticulum in an omphalocele has been reported only twice in the English literature.2 In the present case the intestines could not be reduced until the infant was anesthetized. One of us (H. J. M.) observed the size of the omphalocele increase from that of a lemon (approximately 6 cm. in diameter) to that of a medium-sized grapefruit (approximately 12 cm. in diameter) within five minutes after birth. This occurred through the swallowing of air when the infant began to cry. The intestines became distended, and this hindered any reduction. This was a most interesting physiologic observation. The infant was operated on when 80 minutes of age. Convalescence was uneventful, and at the age of 14 weeks she weighed 12
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