Surgical treatment of vertebral deformity due to myelomeningocele.

Surgical treatment of vertebral deformity due to myelomeningocele has always presented important technical problems. Many complications, the foremost of which pseudarthrosis and infection, are reported in the literature. The authors discuss 14 patients with vertebral deformity from myelomeningocele who were treated with different surgical methods and reviewed after an average of eight years. The only conclusion that can be drawn on the basis of both the literature and the present study is that posterior surgery alone is incapable of guaranteeing stable correction over time for severe deformity. Combined anterior and posterior surgery with spinal fusion up to the sacrum yields better results, and the patient is not required to wear a corset afterward.