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Spina Bifida Occulta

See Also
1. Spinal Dysraphism
Pathophysiology
1. No abnormality of meninges, spinal cord or nerve roots
Symptoms
1. Asymptomatic in most cases when skin findings absent
2. Symptoms are often associated when skin changes present
  1. Chronic Low Back Pain with or without radiculopathy
  2. Ataxia or gait abnormalities
  3. Bowel or bladder Incontinence or dysfunction
Signs: Low back midline may have overlying skin lesion
1. Patch of hair
2. Lipoma
3. Skin Discoloration
4. Dermoid Sinus
  1. Also associated with Meningocele or Encephalocele
  2. Risk of infection if true communication
Associated serious conditions
1. Syringomyelia
2. Diastematomyelia
3. Tethered cord
Radiology: Lumbosacral Spine XRay
1. L5-S1 defect in posterior vertebral closure
References
1. Behrman (2000) Nelson Pediatrics, Saunders, p. 1804
2. Goetz (1999) Neurology, Saunders, p. 515-16

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.