Myelomeningocele: a review of the orthopaedic aspects of 206 patients treated from birth with no selection criteria.

Two hundred and six consecutive children with spina bifida who have been treated since the first day of life were analysed in terms of walking ability, motor level, orthopaedic deformities, operative procedures and balance deficit. The authors found that: (1) ambulation was quite delayed compared with the normal population; (2) sitting balance was a useful predictor of future walking; (3) almost all patients with quadriceps function were able to walk and were community ambulators; and (4) a significant number of congenital and acquired orthopaedic deformities required surgical intervention.