Meningocele is a complex congenital form of spinal dysraphism secondary to neural tube defects that occur during the third to fourth week of gestation. This form of spina bifida cystica (open type) requires early diagnosis and surgical intervention. Untreated, they develop the dreaded combination of spontaneous/traumatic rupture and encephalitis and the eventually fatal sepsis, secondary to flo...

Terminal myelocystocele is a rare form of occult spinal dysraphism in which the hydromyelic caudal spinal cord and the subarachnoid space are hemiated through a posterior spina bifida. A 1.5 month old boy presented with a large lumbosacral mass and urinary incontinence. The magnetic resonance imaging, operative findings and pathological findings revealed a low lying conus with a dilated central...

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy (FHI) is a rare entity with a benign nature. The typical clinical features are a single, slowly growing, painless mass on the trunk that appears within the first 2 years of life. We report a 13-month-old boy who presented with a plaque on the lower back since 4 months of age. The plaque had gradually become larger and firm, and hyperhidrosis and hypertrichosis were ...

The dorsal cutaneous appendage, or so-called human tail, is often considered to be a cutaneous marker of underlying occult dysraphism. The authors present a case of human tail occurring in a 9-month-old infant with multiple abnormalities of the spinal cord and spine. Examination revealed unremarkable except for a caudal appendage and a dark pigmentation area in the low back. Neuroradiological s...

BACKGROUND In patients with open neural tube defects, the incidence of scoliosis and requirement for spinal fusions are increased. Historically, there has been no standardized measurement of vertebral morphometry in these patients. However, anecdotally, patients with open neural tube defects have a more medially oriented lumbar pedicle trajectory than the average population. METHODS A single-...

As the initial exuberance wore off in the 1970s, it became clear that the shunt was an answer that exposed a number of problems not anticipated. Incontinence, paraplegia, and scoliosis coupled with the new problems of shunt malfunction, infection, and mental retardation overwhelmed the medical team. The magnitude of these problems and their impact on the children and their community caused a re...

Faun tail is a triangle-shaped hypertrichosis of the lumbosacral region. It is a rare condition and it can be a cutaneous marker of underlying spinal cord anomaly. We report on a 17-year-old female patient with hypertrichosis on the lumbosacral area since birth that was later diagnosed with tethered cord in magnetic resonance imaging.

Background Spina bifida (SB) is the most common abnormalities in neural tube defects in Iran. The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life in mothers of children with spina bifida and to compare their quality of life with mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Materials and Methods Two-hundred and three mothers were recruited using the convenience sampling strategy...