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Fetal surgery for myelomeningocele: panacea or peril?
Shinjiro Hirose1, Claudia Meuli-Simmen, Martin Meuli
1The Fetal Treatment Center, Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Room HSW 1601, San Francisco, California 94143-0570, USA.
Abstract:
Myelomeningocele affects thousands of children worldwide with devastating consequences. In an effort to improve neurologic outcome, fetal surgery has been performed for myelomeningocele for the past 5 years. Sensorimotor function is not appreciably improved, although there may be a reduction in hindbrain herniation and a decreased need for ventriculoperitoneal shunting. The long-term clinical consequences of these findings are not clear. What is clear, however, is that further study in the form of a prospective, randomized trial is mandatory.