Umbilicus Cutis

The mother of a 1-month-old infant was concerned because her child's umbilicus looked abnormal. The condition was diagnosed as umbilicus cutis.

To produce a normal navel, the skin of the abdominal wall joins the umbilical cord at the level of the abdomen. When the cord sloughs, only a small amount of skin at the base remains and a normal umbilical cicatrix is formed. Umbilicus cutis results when skin extends up the sides of the cord, forming an outpouching after the cord falls off.

Umbilicus cutis is a harmless anomaly. It may be differentiated from an umbilical hernia by the lack of fascial defect and by the fact that there is no further protrusion when the infant cries or strains.