Introduction: Congenital anomalies (CAs) are common and are one of the leading causes neonatal and childhood mortality and morbidity. The present study thus endeavours to estimate the burden of congenital surgical anomalies in a tertiary care centre so that the information can be used to prioritize resources for prevention and control.

Methods: This is a retrospective hospital-based one year study. Information regarding maternal age, parity, risk factors like consanguinity and bad obstetric history were recorded. Neonatal information like type of congenital anomaly and system affected, gestational age, sex, birth weight, need for resuscitation, APGAR score in the neonate and outcomes were recorded. All the congenital anomalies were classified as per International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD – 10).

Results: Out of 3747 admissions, 2800 babies were inborn and 947 were out born. The total number of babies with congenital anomalies was 118, of which 77 babies have surgical anomalies. Male and female babies are equally affected (1:1). Higher frequency of congenital surgical anomalies were seen in term babies (74%), normal birth weight babies (59.7%) and born to mothers aged 21-25 years (51.9%). The most common system involved is Cleft lip and palate (19) with combined cleft lip and palate (12) as the most common anomaly. Out of 77 babies, 60 were discharged, 8 were referred and 9 were expired in the immediate neonatal period.

Conclusion: This study shows that the congenital malformations are still a burden to address and the pattern of congenital surgical anomalies varies from centre to centre. Similar multi-centric studies would contribute the understanding of pattern and prevalence of congenital anomalies which enables the government to plan appropriate intervention measures and its timing to reduce the early childhood morbidity.

Keywords: Congenital Anomalies, Surgical Anomalies, Neonates.

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Dr Harikrishnan Elangovan, MD (Paediatrics)

Associate Professor of Paediatrics, Government Villupuram Medical College, Villupuram, India

Phone No: 9884904428, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.