Anesthesia for Neonatal Myelomeningocele
Myelomeningocele, also known as spina bifida aperta (often shortened to the nonspecific name “spina bifida”) is a congenital disorder of the spine. In infants with a myelomeningocele, the neural tube has not closed, and the vertebral arches have not fused during development, leading to spinal cord and meningeal herniation through the skin. Because of the high potential for injury and infection of the exposed spinal cord, which could lead to lifetime disability, these lesions are typically repaired within 24 to 48 hours after birth. A myelomeningocele occurs before day 28 of human fetal development and is an abnormality in which the posterior neural tube closes incompletely. The outcome is a vertebral column deformity, through which the meningeal-lined sac herniates. After the bony defect is created, the hypothesized mechanism of meningeal herniation is that the pulsations of cerebrospinal fluid act progressively to balloon out the spinal cord. If the sac is filled with spinal nerves or the spinal cord, it is known as a myelomeningocele; if the sac is empty, it is called a meningocele.