Treatment SB-2

Postnatal Repair If postnatal repair is recommended or elected, the pregnancy is monitored — often at the mother’s
home hospital — and a cesarean delivery is planned at CHOP at 37 weeks. Within the first 24 to 48 hours of life, the
newborn undergoes repair of the defect using the same approach in prenatal repair. After surgery, the baby will receive
care in our Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit.
Delivery for all MMC babies takes place in CHOP’s Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU), allowing for the
highest level of immediate care for the newborn, as well as expert obstetric services for the mother — all within a leading
pediatric hospital. The world’s first birth facility designed exclusively for pregnancies complicated by birth defects, the
SDU is a vital part of our team’s ability to provide comprehensive care for spina bifida.
Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive long-term follow-up for children with spina bifida, from the time of repair
through adolescence. Our dedicated Spina Bifida Program’s interdisciplinary team includes a pediatrician, nurse, social
worker, physical therapist, neurosurgeon, orthopaedist, urologist and genetic counselor — all focused on the care of
these children. As needed, other subspecialists within CHOP are consulted.
The spina bifida team works closely with each child’s primary care pediatrician and school, and helps families access
appropriate community services.

FETuS wiTH MyElOMEningOCElE
1. Part of the spinal cord and spinal
nerves, usually encased in a sac, protrude
through an opening in the back and are
exposed to the amniotic fluid.
2. The brainstem (hindbrain) descends, or
herniates, into the spinal canal in the neck
and blocks the circulation of cerebrospinal
fluid. This can cause a damaging buildup
of fluid in the brain called hydrocephalus.
FETuS aFTER SuRgiCal REPaiR
1. Fetal surgery repairs the defect,
returning the spinal tissue to its proper
place and covering the opening in
the fetus’ back.
2. The hindbrain herniation gradually
reverses after repair, and the brain
stem returns to its normal position.
FETuS wiTH nORMal SPinE s s
1
2
1
2
Treatment continued
long Term: The Spina Bifida Program
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