Fractures in Children with Myelomeningocele: Report of 15 Cases and a Review of the Literature

In recent years orthopaedic surgeons have seen increasing numbers of children with paralysed lower limbs due to spinal dysraphism.The problem is not new, but the advances of neurosurgery and urology have given a much better prospect of life to these children.Therefore, the correction of the limb deformities is a challenge that has to be accepted in order to help them to stand and walk.However, parallel with the better general outlook and the improved management of the lower limb deformities in these children, an increasing number of fractures has occurred and some of the fractures show an unusual pattern of repair.This paper reports a study of 130 children with myelomeningocele, fifteen of whom sustained fifty-five fractures.