What does a sacral dimple mean?

A sacral dimple is a small bump in your newborn's lower back near the crease of their buttocks. Sacral refers to the sacrum, which is the bone at the bottom of your baby's spine. A sacral dimple is a congenital condition, which means your baby was born with it. A sacral dimple won't go away.

When should I be concerned about a sacral dimple?

Most sacral dimples are harmless and don't require any treatment. Sacral dimples that are accompanied by a nearby tuft of hair, skin tag or certain types of skin discoloration are sometimes associated with a serious underlying abnormality of the spine or spinal cord.

Is it normal to have a sacral dimple?

Sacral dimples are common and unproblematic in the vast majority of cases. Rarely, they can be indicative of underlying spinal defects. Even when those defects occur, they are usually mild and produce no symptoms. Most people with sacral dimples live normal, healthy lives.

Is a sacral dimple a form of spina bifida?

Rarely, sacral dimples are associated with a serious underlying abnormality of the spine or spinal cord. Examples include: Spina bifida. A very mild form of this condition, called spina bifida occulta, occurs when the spine doesn't close properly around the spinal cord but the cord remains within the spinal canal.

Why was I born with a sacral dimple?

Sacral dimples are relatively common in healthy, newborn babies and do not normally signal a concern. They are seen in around 2-4 percent of births, although the cause of them is unknown. In most cases, sacral dimples are simply signs of minor abnormalities as the baby grows inside the womb.

WHAT IS A SACRAL DIMPLE?

What problems can a sacral dimple cause?

Most sacral dimples don't cause any problems. Sometimes, a sacral dimple can be a sign of an underlying spinal issue. These include spina bifida and tethered spinal cord. Spina bifida happens when your developing baby's spine doesn't form completely early during your pregnancy.

What do dimples on lower back indicate?

Back dimples — indentations on your lower back — are a fairly common cosmetic feature. They're caused by short ligaments connecting your pelvis to your skin, but they have no medical implications. Not only are they harmless, but they can even be considered a sign of beauty, especially in women!

How early can you tell if a baby has spina bifida?

Ultrasound. Fetal ultrasound is the most accurate method to diagnose spina bifida in your baby before delivery. Ultrasound can be performed during the first trimester (11 to 14 weeks) and second trimester (18 to 22 weeks). Spina bifida can be accurately diagnosed during the second trimester ultrasound scan.

Do sacral dimples ever go away?

The mother was counseled that the dimple probably would not go away, but that it may become less noticeable as the child grew and was unlikely to cause any problem. Skin dimples over the spine commonly referred to as sacral dimples are common minor congenital anomalies, estimated to occur in 3-8% of children.

Do sacral dimples run in families?

A sacral dimple may be associated with several hereditary disorders, including Bloom; Smith-Lemli-Opitz; and 4p, or Wolf-Hirschhorn, syndromes.

Do babies with spina bifida look normal?

Key points about spina bifida in children

Symptoms can include an area on the back that looks abnormal. This may be a small hairy patch, dimple, or birthmark, or a pouch-like bulge (sac). You may need tests while you are pregnant to check for spina bifida in your growing baby.

What does spina bifida look like at birth?

But you can sometimes see signs on the newborn's skin above the spinal problem, including a tuft of hair, a small dimple or a birthmark. Sometimes, these skin marks can be signs of an underlying spinal cord issue that can be discovered with MRI or spinal ultrasound in a newborn.

Can babies with spina bifida move their legs?

In children with spina bifida, the nerves in the spinal canal are often damaged or improperly formed, and therefore they may not able to control the muscles properly or sometimes feel properly. Some children may be paralyzed, not able to move their legs at all, while others can stand and walk to some extent.

How do you assess a sacral dimple?

Spine ultrasonography (USG) is an effective and safe screening tool for patients with a sacral dimple. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical manifestations in patients with an isolated sacral dimple and to review the management of spinal cord abnormalities identified with USG.

Why do I have dimples on my bum?

As fat cells increase, they push up against the skin. Tough, long connective cords pull down. This creates an uneven surface or dimpling, often referred to as cellulite. Cellulite is a very common, harmless skin condition that causes lumpy, dimpled flesh on the thighs, hips, buttocks and abdomen.

What are the two dimples on a woman's lower back?

A sacral dimple (sacrococcygeal or coccygeal dimple) is an indentation just above the groove between your buttocks. Back dimples are the set of dimples that are on your lower back. Back dimples are the result of ligaments, tissues that connect your skin to your pelvis.

What does mild spina bifida look like?

Spina bifida occulta is a mild form of spina bifida and rarely causes symptoms. Children diagnosed with spina bifida occulta might have a visible mark on their skin at the lower part of the back when they're born that appears as a lump, a red or purple patch (hemangioma), a dark spot (birthmark) or a dimple.

What is the life expectancy of a child with spina bifida?

The prognosis for survival was strikingly poor in those with the most extensive neurological deficit. Only 17% (7/42) of those born with a high sensory level (above T11) survived to the mean age of 40 years, compared with 61% (23/38) of those with a low sensory level (below L3; p=0.001).

Does lack of folic acid cause spina bifida?

Not having enough folic acid during pregnancy is one of the most important factors that can increase your chances of having a child with spina bifida. Folic acid (also known as vitamin B9) occurs naturally in some foods, such as broccoli, peas and brown rice.

Is spina bifida a disability?

If your family has limited income and resources, your child with spina bifida will likely qualify for SSI disability benefits. Spina bifida is a disease that affects children and can be very disabling. If your child has spina bifida, he or she may qualify for SSI disability benefits by applying through Social Security.

Is spina bifida more common in males or females?

In most populations, spina bifida occurs more often among females than males (19). Differential rates of spontaneous abortion for male and female fetuses may account for the differences in sex-specific prevalence rates for spina bifida and other NTDs (19).

What are the 3 types of spina bifida?

What is the last organ to develop in a fetus?

Most babies move to a head-down position in the uterus toward the end, with the head on the mother's pubic bone. The lungs are the last major organ to finish developing.

Are dimples a disability?

Because cheek dimples can result from a muscular variation that occurs during fetal development, they're sometimes mistakenly referred to as a birth defect. It's important to remember that not only are cheek dimples rather common, but they also don't have any negative health effects.

Are dimples more common in certain races?

As the Infinity Medical Group revealed in an article on their site, researchers have estimated that roughly 20 percent of the American population has dimples. Nevertheless, dimples are, of course, not confined to nationality. Smithsonian Magazine highlighted that people of "all races and ethnicities" can have dimples.