a newborn girl with birth weight of 2440 gr who was born via vaginal route to a healthy , gravida 1 , para 1 mother at 37 weeks gestation was admitted to clinic with vomiting and abdominal distension . on physical examination , metallic bowel sounds were heard , abdominal distension was observed , and patient had not yet defecated . upright , plain abdominal radiographs revealed small air - fluid levels and passage of gas to distal area ( figure 1 ) . radiographs obtained after rectal administration of contrast material showed unused large bowel ( figure 2 ) . radiograms obtained following oral intake of contrast material showed no passage of contrast material beyond ileal level , prompting decision to perform surgery . surgical exploration disclosed congenital band compression on ileal loops ( figure 3 ) . intestinal integrity and passage were intact and not disrupted by excision of band . causes of intestinal obstruction include duodenal , jejunal , ileal , and colonic atresia ; volvulus ; annular pancreas ; or congenital bands . cases other than congenital bands can be diagnosed during prenatal period , and pathologies secondary to congenital bands manifest themselves thereafter . congenital bands can be in the form of omphalodiverticular , omphalomesenteric or mesodiverticular bands ; simple bands with unknown origin have been also reported . in the literature , 2 patients with congenital bands diagnosed at 8 days and 3 weeks of age , respectively , have been reported . both cases presented at hospital with vomiting and abdominal distension after they had been sent home following birth , and band compression due to meckel diverticulum was found . in the present case , patient with suspected intestinal obstruction was examined , and surgery was performed with the same diagnosis . unlike the literature , no remnant of omphalomesenteric canal was found ; however , a band extending from mesenteric towards antimesenteric aspect of the ileum was seen . in the literature , vascular problems and band compression have been reported as possible causes of intestinal atresia . in 1922 , davis and poynter suggested that intestinal atresia stem from an intrauterine problem . in 1955 , louw and bernard asserted that occlusion of mesenteric vessels can result in atresia , and nixon and tawes reported cases of atresia that occurred following cases of volvulus . since congenital band compression resulted in symptoms during prenatal period in the present case , it may shed light on pathophysiology of intestinal atresia . development of band compression during last stages of pregnancy may explain why intestinal atresia did not occur in this case . some authors prefer minimally invasive approaches for patients with intestinal obstruction during childhood . in those instances , pathology was related to meckel diverticulum , and delayed referral was the issue . in the present case , patient was very young , initial diagnosis was made during prenatal period , and inability to demonstrate continuum of intestinal passage suggested atresia , leading to decision for open surgery . during neonatal period , though it may be rare , surgery based on indication of intestinal obstruction may reveal simple congenital band compression rather than atresia . it is treated by excising the band , and examining entire intestinal loop for concomitant presence of atresia .
congenital band compression syndrome should be considered in cases diagnosed prenatally or postnatally as intestinal obstruction . 
 presently described is a report of newborn admitted to hospital with abdominal distension and bilious vomiting . 
 a suspected intestinal obstruction had been diagnosed in prenatal examination . 
 surgery revealed congenital band compressing ileal segments and preventing transmission of intestinal content . 
 band was successfully removed and intestinal integrity is intact .