Comparison of simultaneous shunting to delayed shunting in infants with myelomeningocele in terms of shunt infection rate.

AIM Timing of shunt insertion in infants with myelomeningocele (MM) and hydrocephalus (HCP) has been debated. Many authors have suggested to perform the repair of MM and shunt insertion during same operation. However, there is also an opposite view. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed retrospectively 166 patients who underwent MM Sac repair to evaluate whether there are difference between these two methods in terms of shunt infection rate. RESULTS In the same session, V-P (ventriculoperitoneal) shunt placement was performed onto 65 infants within the first 48 hours of postnatal and 36 infants were operated 48 hours after birth. In separate sessions, repair of MM were performed onto 29 infants within the first 48 hours of postnatal and shunting was peformed 7 days after sac repair. 14 infants were performed MM sac repair 48 hours after birth, then shunt was applied 7 days after closure of MM. Shunt infection rate in concurrently operated groups was markedly high (12.3 % in early surgery, 33.3% in late surgery); in separatedly operated groups' shunt infection rate was lower (3.44% in early surgery, 14.29% in late surgery). CONCLUSION We propose to perform V-P shunt placement and MM repair in separate sessions.