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Antenatal Management of Spinal Dysraphism—2: Antenatal Surgery of Myelomeningocele

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Textbook of Pediatric Neurosurgery

Abstract

Myelomeningocele (MM) is the most common neural tube defect, and is a lifelong, costly, and potentially limiting disease. Its treatment has changed over the years, mainly driven by the diagnostic tools available. After the advent of intrapartum ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), early studies showed the potential of antenatal treatment of MM to reduce the rate of hydrocephalus and improve motor levels, at the expense of incurring some maternal risks. The environment needed to perform antenatal treatment of MM is complex and meticulous; care should be taken in all aspects in order to minimize the risks to both the mother and fetus. This chapter describes our protocol for the antenatal closure of MM at our institution.

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Cavalheiro, S. et al. (2017). Antenatal Management of Spinal Dysraphism—2: Antenatal Surgery of Myelomeningocele. In: Di Rocco, C., Pang, D., Rutka, J. (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_118-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_118-1

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