[Scoliotic malformations with or without associated occult spinal dysraphia. A study in 82 children. Current...

The possible association of spinal dysraphia with scoliotic malformations was studied in 82 children. Scoliotic malformations are not always the result of dysraphic malformations (diastematomyelia, hydromyelia, intrathecal lipoma, medullary cone ectopia). Recognition of dysraphic scoliotic malformations from among other types of scoliotic malformations can be accomplished before myelography by detecting vertebral malformations on standard films and, if necessary, by computed tomography. Segmental vertebral malformations, affecting vertebral bodies only, do not appear to arise from malformations of nerves. On the contrary, however, dysraphic lesions are always associated with vertebral neural malformations. Of currently employed techniques, only myelography with metrizamide, followed by computed tomography, gives the maximum amount of data concerning the lesions. Even the association of these two techniques does not demonstrate the presence of certain intrathecal fibrous lesions, due to lack of resolution.