There are a number of terms that I had to look up to understand ABS better. Here they are defined to the best of my understanding:
- Acrosyndactyly is a more complex type of syndactyly. The fingers had separated but a band formed around the fingers causing them to refuse during development.
- Amnion or Amniotic Sac -refers to the thin, membranous sac that contains amniotic fluid and the developing fetus during pregnancy.
- Congenital – existing from birth
- Chorion – outermost membrane enclosing the fetus.
- Hemangioma – is a concentration of blood vessels on the surface of the skin. Hemangioma resulting from ABS are the “raised raspberry-type” and pose no threat to the child. It will fade and shrink, and eventually disappear altogether without any intervention. If the hemangioma are the subcultaneous, cavernous type they may or may not present more problems and should be watched closely.
- Idiopathic – the cause is unknown.
- Lymphedema – accumulation of lymph fluid that causes swelling of a joint. In Evan’s case there was swelling of the center joint of his index finger.
- Placenta – flattened circular spongy vascular organ in uterus that helps to nourish the baby. The baby is attached to it by the umbilical cord.
- Synechia – an “adhesion”, or a fibrous scar. Uterine synechiae have also been referred to as “amniotic sheets” or “amniotic folds”.
- Skin Graft – when skin is transferred from one part of the body (commonly the groin area) to the surgery site during plastic surgery.
- Syndactyly – is the most common congenital hand deformity, in which two or more fingers are webbed or fused together. “In the womb, the new hand starts out in the shape of a paddle, then splits into separate fingers. Sometimes the fingers don’t split apart enough, and webbed fingers result: syndactyly.” (source and a great description of Syndactyly can be found at HandWorld).
- Z-plasty – plastic surgery procedure used for release of constriction bands.
