Mortality and Morbidity Following Repair for Lumbosacral Myelomeningoceles

Abstract

A retrospective study of 220 infants with myelomeningoceles was carried out to evaluate the results of management by non-operative (NO) and Delayed Surgical Closure (DSC). One hundred and twenty infants were managed by NO versus 100 for DSC during a 14-year period. There was an increase in the number of infants with patchy sensory loss from 15% at admission to 25% at 3 months post admission in NO versus an increase from 19% to 60 % for DSC. Similar figures for faecal incontinence for NO were 50% to 55% versus 52% to 68% for DSC. Hospital mortality for NO was 33% versus 6% for DSC. Wound infection occurred in NO in 46% versus 10% for DSC. At 2 years in NO, there were no survivors versus 52 surviving children in DSC. This study suggests treatment by DSC compared to NO was more effective in decreasing the mortality and morbidity associated with management of lumbo-sacral myelomeningoceles

(Nig J Surg Res 2000; 2:139-143)



KEY WORDS:

Myelomeningoceles, delayed surgical closure, mortality, morbidity