Diagnosis

Bladder exstrophy is found incidentally during a routine pregnancy ultrasound. It can be more definitively diagnosed before birth with ultrasound or MRI. Signs the doctor will look for in the images include:

• Bladder that doesn't fill or empty correctly
• Umbilical cord that is placed low on the abdomen
• Pubic bones — part of the hipbones that form the pelvis — that are separated
• Smaller than normal genitals

Sometimes the condition can't be seen until after the baby is born. In a newborn, doctors look for:

• Size of the portion of the bladder that is open and exposed to air
• Position of the testicles
• Intestine bulging through the abdominal wall (inguinal hernia)
• Anatomy of the area around the navel
• Position of opening at the end of the rectum (anus)
• How much the pubic bones are separated, and how easily the pelvis moves