[Risk Factors for Mental Health Problems in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida].

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) and spina bifida (SB) are at an increased risk for mental health problems. Aim of this study was to correlate disease specific and psychosocial risk factors with characteristic mental health problems.

Patients: 271 children with CP and 84 with SB aged 3-17 years were included in a cross sectional study of 15 centers.

Comparison of the Ramirez technique for the closure of large open myelomeningocele defects with alternative methods.

Background: To compare the Ramirez technique for the operative closure of large open myelomeningocele defects with conventional closure techniques in newborns. We hypothesized that the immediate surgical treatment with the Ramirez technique is superior to prior used operative techniques.

Methods: From 2003 to 2010, 23 children (8 female, 15 male) underwent closure of large open myelomeningocele defects using the Ramirez technique (group A), while from 1993 to 2002, 23 children (6 female, 17 male) underwent conventional closure techniques (group B).

Myocutaneous propeller flap based on the superior gluteal artery (SGA) for closure of large lumbosacral meningomyelocoele defects: a case report.

Early and reliable closure of large meningomyelocoele defects in newborns is critical to prevent severe infectious complications and neurologic deterioration. Here, we introduce a new surgical method for the reconstruction of large horizontal meningomyelocoele defects, in which we use unilateral myocutaneous tissue based on the superior gluteal artery (SGA) as a propellar flap. This procedure permits a tension-free and durable multilayer closure of difficult, large-scale horizontal defects that cannot adequately be treated by conventional myocutaneous advancement flaps.