Abstract
The ceco-appendix region is rare as an omphalomesenteric duct remnant. A male infant was born at 35 weeks' gestation weighing 1,580g. Since he presented with hernia into the umbilical cord with bowel patency, an emergent operation was done. The bowel, inside the hernia sac, was strangulated with a band that was connected to a diverticulum-like structure. Operative diagnosis was Meckel's diverticulum, and we resected it. However, pathological findings showed that the resected bowel was not the diverticulum but the appendix and the cecum. The abnormal artery arose from the root of the mesentery, which we thought to be the omphalomesenteric artery, and ended in the wall of the appendix. This artery didn't branch and maintained the same diameter through all its length and abruptly ended. Furthermore, the appendicecal artery existed separately, suggesting that this artery may have been the omphalomesenteric artery as we thought, wherever it ended. In addition, the umbilical artery adhered to the patent cecum wall. From all these anatomical anomalies, we thought that the omphalomesenteric duct remnant was located at the cecal region. These structural anomalies may prevent bowels from normal reduction into the abdominal cavity, and contribute to the pathogenesis of hernia into the umbilical cord.
