Anterior encephaloceles: a report of 30 cases.
Thirty cases of anterior encephalocele treated in our centre over an 18-year period (from 1973 to 1990) are presented. At the time of surgery over 60% of the patients were under the age of 2 years, and 40% were aged under 1 year. Only one child was over 10 years of age. Twenty-six patients had the fronto-ethmoidal type of defect, while two each had frontonasal- and naso-orbital-type lesions. Twenty-five children had varying degrees of hypertelorism. Four had an enlarged head and four microcephaly. In 26 patients one-stage repair of the encephalocele and reconstruction of the orbits was undertaken. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt was performed prior to definitive surgery in three patients with gross hydrocephalus. There was no postoperative mortality. Six patients had postoperative CSF rhinorrhoea, three of them requiring a lumboperitoneal shunt. This study highlights the role of one-stage repair of this defect.
Mahapatra
A K
AK
Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Tandon
P N
PN
Dhawan
I K
IK
Khazanchi
R K
RK
D000367:Age Factors; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt