Abstract
Objective: To study the long term operative and non-operative outcome in patients with diastematomyelia (DM).
Design: A prospectively acquired database of all spinal patients seen jointly by the senior authors (JKW, JLF), was searched for patients with DM. Their notes and the database were then reviewed.
Subjects: Thirty-six patients were identified; twenty-one (58%) had associated scoliosis. There were 60 associated abnormalities in the 36 patients, most common being ten (27%) with leg length inequality. Twelve patients (33%) had no radiological bony abnormality. Twenty-four (66%) had neurosurgery, eleven (31%) untethering of filum alone and eleven (31%) with removal of a spur and closure of the DM as well. Nineteen (53%) underwent some sort of neuraxial shortening scoliosis correction/surgery. Twenty-eight (78%) were deemed to have a normal/independent neurological outcome, seventeen (61%) having neurosurgery and twelve (43%) scoliosis surgery.
Conclusions: Patients with DM have been followed up for many years. Good neurological outcomes can be anticipated in cases with untethering and with scoliosis correction alone. This series raises the question as to whether any unthethering procedure is necessary in these cases when neuraxial shortening is carried out for scoliosis cases.
Abstracts prepared by Mr. A. J. Stirling, FRCS, and Miss A. Weaver. Correspondence should be addressed to Miss A. Weaver at the Research and Teaching Centre, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 2AP, UK
BritSpine 2002, the second combined meeting of the British Association of Spinal Surgeons, the British Cervical Spine Society, The British Scoliosis Society and the Society for Back Pain Research, took place at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham UK between 27th February and 1st March 2002. The following presentations and posters were given and displayed.
