STUDIES IN SPINA BIFIDA CYSTICA: II WHEN TO REPAIR THE SPINAL DEFECT

Studies in spina bifida cystica. II. When to repair the spinal defect.

In a recent survey of the problem of spina bifida cystica (Doran and Guthkelch, 1961) it was suggested that developments in the management of hydrocephalus and of paraplegia had improved the outlook in the grosser forms of spina bifida to the point at which it may not be justifiable to regard any but a very small minority of patients as incapable of survival. If this is the case, then it is of ...

Studies in Spina Bifida Cystica

Nicolai Tulp, the physician whose features are immortalized in Rembrandt's painting 'The School of Anatomy', first suggested the name 'spina bifida' (Tulpius, 1652), though the condition was known to Hippocrates, and the mediaeval Arab physicians are said (Denuce, 1906) to have specifically recognized the absence of the spinous processes in the affected area. Ruysch (1691) distinguished between...

Spina bifida cystica.

Studies in spina bifida cystica. III. Seasonal variation in the frequency of spina bifida births.

This communication continues the analysis of data accumulated from a series of cases of spina bifida cystica observed during the years 1949 to 1958. In earlier papers, attention was drawn to the magnitude of the problem presented by these cases and to the amount of medical and surgical care which they require (Doran and Guthkelch, 1961) and to certain complications which need consideration in p...

Selection for treatment in spina bifida cystica.

This paper discusses (1) the mortality in 295 patients with myelomeningocele born 1961-9, (2) the "quality of life" of 88 surviving patients born 1961-5, and (3) their implications for selection for treatment in spina bifida cystica. Evidence is presented that high neurological levels, the presence of severe hydrocephalus, especially if present at birth, meningitis and ventriculitis, and gross ...