title: Impact of maternal-fetal surgery for myelomeningocele on the progression of ventriculomegaly in utero.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Intrauterine myelomeningocele (MMC) repair decreases hindbrain herniation and the need for postnatal ventriculoperitoneal shunting. We examined the impact of intrauterine repair on the progression of ventriculomegaly in utero.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fetuses with MMC were identified through computerized databases from June 1988 to April 2003. A retrospective cohort design was used to evaluate the impact of intrauterine repair on ventricular progression with a multivariate linear regression model that included baseline ventricle measurement, gestational age, level of lesion, and gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fourteen fetuses with intrauterine repair and 39 fetuses with postnatal repair were identified. The natural history of progression of ventricular diameter increased in a linear fashion throughout gestation (0.57 mm/week). After adjusting for confounding variables, no transient or sustained difference was observed in the rate progression of ventriculomegaly between intrauterine and postnatal repair (0.27 +/- 0.35 mm/week; P=.45).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intrauterine MMC repair does not impact the progression of ventriculomegaly.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, USA. adelberg@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adelberg
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blotzer
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moise
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chescheir
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Moise
authors.forename: Honor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wolfe
mesh_terms: D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D046128:Fetal Therapies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000601:surgery*