Timing of surgery in patients with infected spinal dermal sinuses: report of two cases.

In the past, if infection was present at the time a spinal dermal sinus was discovered, the sinus opening and cerebrospinal fluid were sterilized with a course of appropriate antibiotic therapy prior to the surgical intervention. The cases of two children with an infected spinal dermal sinus are reported here. One patient developed acute paraplegia during the initial stage of antibiotic therapy, and the second patient, who was admitted only with signs of fever and irritability, experienced after antibiotic therapy a complete myelographic blockade secondary to a large infected intradural dermoid tumor. The authors stress the importance of early neuroradiological and neurosurgical management of these lesions, even when an infection is present.