[The tethered spinal cord: diagnosis and surgical considerations]

The tethered spinal cord consists of complex malformations that result from disturbances in the closure of the neural tube early in embryonic development. Among patients with occult or open spinal dysraphic anomalies, late progressive neurologic deterioration commonly occurs due to a treatable cause. Most of the patients treated surgically showed improvement of their presenting complaints. The paper describes modern diagnostic methods and surgical indications. Close clinical and radiodiagnostic follow-up of this high risk patient population is indicated.