Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) is a broad term for a group of congenital abnormalities that occur when bands of amnion (the inner lining of the amniotic sack or "bag of water") peel away from the sack and attach or wrap around parts of the baby's body, disrupting normal development.
ABS can cause a wide range of disorders. Below is a list of some of the disorders that are the result of amniotic bands. Your physician may have used one of these names to describe the disorder they suspect your baby might have.
Terms applied to defects that are the result of ABS:
- Amniotic band disruption complex and amniotic disruption complex refer to deformities of any area of the fetus. The band can wrap around a body part and stop the part from completely forming. Although the affected body part may not form completely or normally, it may still be functional.
- Amniochorionic meso-blastic fibrous strings and constriction ring syndrome are other terms that experts use to describe amniotic band syndrome. These terms usually refer to issues related to bands that wrap around a limb, digit or even the umbilical cord.
- Transverse terminal defects of limb refers to amputation or malformation of part or all of a limb due to amniotic bands.
- Aberrant tissue bands is another term for amniotic band syndrome.
- Streeter bands is another term for ABS. It refers to a physician named Streeter who identified and studied amniotic band syndrome in the first half of the 1900s.
There are several forms of ABS that cause severe fetal deformities:
- Limb and/or body wall defect (LBWD)
- Body stalk complex
- Amniotic deformity, adhesions and mutilations (ADAM complex)
- Amniotic adhesion malformation syndrome
All of these deformities usually are fatal. Experts believe they occur early in the pregnancy and they alter the development of multiple body systems. These disorders are defined by a fetus who has at least two of three findings:
- Myelomeningocele (spina bifida) and/or caudal (sacral area or upper buttocks/lower back) regression
- Thoracoschisis (thoraco means chest and schisis means a cleft or split) and/or abdominoschisis (abdomino refers to abdominal area)
- Limb deformities
- Congenital amputation refers to amputation of a part of the fetus, usually a limb. This means that the limb did not develop at all.