Occasionally, surgical shunting to correct hydrocephalus causes the myelomeningocele to spontaneously reduce, and normal growth of the child may cover the defect. Genetic counseling may be recommended. In some cases where severe defect is detected early in the pregnancy , therapeutic abortion may be considered. The defect of myelomeningocele can usually be surgically corrected. With treatment, length of life is not severely affected.
Neurologic damage is often irreversible.
Call your health care provider if a protrusion is present on the spine of a newborn infant. Call for an appointment with your health care provider if the child is late in walking or crawling. Follow-up monitoring should be ongoing as the child ages to assess extent of neurologic damage, symptoms of complications occur. Prevention Folic acid supplements may be effective at reducing the risk of neural tube defects such as myelomeningocele. Prospective mothers may be screened to determine their serum folate level .