Contemporary management of prenatally diagnosed spina bifida aperta - an update.

Spina bifida aperta is a relatively common congenital defect that occurs in the general population. Once the disorder has been diagnosed, a discussion, that can be emotionally-charged, ensues about whether to treat it prenatally or to only offer surgery postnatally. Given that there are good arguments for and against both options, it is of paramount importance to gain a good understanding of the major advantages and disadvantages of the various surgical approaches. The aim of our paper is to summarize current knowledge about spina bifida and the potential benefits of prenatal surgery.