Spina bifida in surgically treated infants in Sarajevo region of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction: Spina bifida is a congenital anomaly characterized by incomplitnes of vertebral arches in the medial line which occurs in 3rd and 4th month of intrauterine life. It is often associated with other congenital malformations, but hydrocephalus and Chiary II malformation are the most frequent. Aim: The aim of this work was to obtain the frequency of surgical cases of spina bifida treated at the Clinic for Neurosurgery, ClinicalCenter University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Methods: Retrospective study was carried out on the basis of the clinical records during the period January 2005. to December 2008. Standard methods of descriptive statistics were performed for the data analysis. Results: A total of 31spina bifida cases were surgically treated in the period from 2005. through 2008. Out of that number 14 (48.2%) were female patients, while 17 (54.8%) were male patients; sex ratio – 1.21:1. The most common type of spina bifida was myelomeningocele, treated in 24 surgical patients (77.45%), and the most common location was thoracolumbal part of the vertebral column, treated in 13 patients (41.91%).Conclusion: Anomalies associated with spina bifida were present in 19 patients (61.3%). Hydrocephalus, in 18 patients (58.05%) and Chiary II malformation, in 5 cases (16.13%) were the most frequent anomalies associated with spina bifida.