Laryngeal stridor and respiratory obstruction associated with meningomyelocele.

Case 1. A male infant, birth weight 6 lb. 6 oz. (2,891 g.), had a lumbar meningomyelocele which was repaired on the second day of life. At the age of 10 days, the infant's anterior fontanelle was tense and an air ventriculogram showed some dilatation of the lateral ventricles. However, subsequent head growth was not excessive, and by 5 months the skull circumference was 171 in. (44 cm.). At the age of 2 months the child developed laryngeal stridor which worsened over a period of one week. Laryngoscopy revealed no local cause for this symptom, but two weeks later tracheostomy was necessary for severe respiratory obstruction. Following operation, there were repeated episodes of vomiting and respiratory infection. It was six months before the infant could manage without the tracheostomy tube. Stridor has not recurred and the infant remains well without evidence of hydrocephalus. The only abnormality is paralytic talipes of the left foot.