4 ms·

So is it immediately clear that the surgery was a complete success? Or is that something that will only be know with time?

• barking 7y ago
  I was reading a news story featuring a senior doc in the UK who was castigating about lots of things. One of them was keyhole surgery which he claimed was often undertaken for reasons of vanity by surgeons, when a conventional approach would be more reliable. Might not apply in this case of course.
• wincy 7y ago
  The primary symptoms of spina bifida are incontinence, bladder control, and limited leg movement. Unfortunately, all three of those things are just characteristics of being a baby, so it’s difficult to tell until the child is older. The best you can do is give them physical therapy on their legs and make sure their shunt keeps working, so they don’t develop hydrocephalus. My daughter is seven months old with spina bifida, and we get “hints” sometimes, like she grunts while pooping which is a good sign, as it indicates she might have bowel control. She kicks her legs but not often. She wears little leg braces an hour or two a day to straighten her little feet. She doesn’t move her toes at all, and you can smack her feet (babies HATE that) without her reacting. It all depends on the individual case though, and sometimes as someone grows the spinal cord can snag on the bones and someone who once walked can become wheelchair bound. As someone else stated, they’re just much more delicate. It sounds like this surgery tries to put the cord back inside the bones, but I’m not sure.