What is Aplasia Cutis??

Here’s the info we were given on day 1…

Aplasia cutis (sometimes called ‘aplasia cutis congenita’) is a condition where a newborn child is missing skin from certain areas. In about 70% of cases it is a single lesion on the scalp, but sometimes multiple lesions may appear on other parts of the body. They vary in size from 0.5cm to 10cm.

Lesions that involve only the epidermis (upper layers of skin) are shallow and usually heal over with scarring before the child is born. A deeper lesion involving the dermis, subcutaneous tissue, or rarely, the skull may be ulcerated.

Membranous aplasia cutis is the term used when there is an underlying flat, white membrane, which overlies a defect in the skull. It can be associated with a neural cranial tube defect (encephalocoele or meningocoele), which can be demonstrated by ultrasound scan showing misplaced brain tissue outside the skull.

Ellie was given a brain scan on day 2 to rule out this last piece of info…thankfully the scan came back and gave her the all clear

How do you get it and who is at risk?

It is not yet fully known why aplasia cutis occurs but the following factors may be involved:

• Genetics
• Teratogens (drugs or chemicals causing birth deformities)
• Defect in skin development in the embryo/fetus
• Early rupture of amniotic membranes
• Aplasia cutis affecting the limbs may be associated with the death of a twin fetus (papyreous fetus)

It is a rare condition with no one particular race or sex more at risk.

The doctors can never be 100% sure about what causes each case of Aplasia Cutis.  In Ellie’s case, the main thing they think caused it was that on my placenta, there was another ‘lobe’ which they think may have been from an undeveloped twin.  This lobe was sitting right on Ellie’s head and was the same size/shape as her largest effected area.  They believe that the pressure from the lobe did not allow her skin to develop.  This does not give a reason for the ‘river’ area that runs down to her forehead

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