RT Journal
A1 KROOVAND R, PERLMUTTER AD
T1 'prune belly' syndrome
JF American Journal of Diseases of Children
JO American Journal of Diseases of Children
YR 1979
FD June 1
VO 133
IS 6
SP 658
OP 658
DO 10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130060098031
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130060098031
AB Sir.—We read with interest in the Journal (132:970-972, 1978) the article by Arena and Smith, "Sex Liability to Single Structural Defects"; however, we differ with the authors in their interpretation of the etiology of "prune belly" syndrome (PBS). The authors propose that PBS is most commonly a consequence of urethral obstruction at the prostatic urethra, which results in urinary tract dilation and a thinning out of the abdominal wall and its musculature. This is often lethal in early fetal life unless the bladder ruptures via the urachus or the urethra to decompress the bladder mass and yield the wrinkled prune belly at birth. The authors base their conclusions on the nonreferenced research by one of them (D.W.S.) plus cited references that do not corroborate their conclusions concerning PBS.The etiology of PBS is admittedly unknown, but the findings (abdominal muscular deficiency, urinary tract dilation, and cryptorchidism) can be explained by