[Clinical manifestations of spinal lesions in dysraphic malformations of the caudal neuropore in children].

Disorders in the development of the spine and the spinal cord in the caudal neuroporus region significantly contribute to the morbidity and the lasting invalidity of children. Clinical investigations of the malformations manifest through different forms of body abnormalities, ranging from asymptomatic forms of "spina bifida occultae" to the severe forms of open "meningomyelocele". The nature and the level often cannot be detected before the development of the structural changes in the course of growth and development of the child, which can hardly be treated later. At the Department of Child Surgery in Novi Sad 12 infants were surgically treated in the last 5 years, while 30 children were surgically and conservatively treated after the detection of the clinical and subclinical manifestations of dysraphism. The indications for the surgical treatment were open meningomyelocele as well as those subclinical forms indicating the development of the tethered corn syndrome, hydrocephalus and tumefactions in the lumbosacral region. Moreover the study points to the significance of certain clinical features and investigations in the diagnosis of spinal dysraphism.