[Clinical, sonographic and radiologic findings in spinal dysraphism of the lumbosacral region].

Demonstrating the clinical, sonographic and radiologic findings in three pediatric patients suffering from caudal spinal dysraphism the various diagnostic and therapeutic problems of neural tube defects are discussed. Important conclusions are as follows: (1) Early diagnosed and operated malformations of the caudal spine may cause neurologic, neurosurgical, urogenital, gastrointestinal and orthopedic complications even after uneventful years. Mostly the reason is a prevented ascensus of the conus medullaris. Therefore a longstanding follow-up of these patients is mandatory. (2) The patient's examiners have to look for cutaneous manifestations of spinal dysraphism even in the sacral region to avoid secondary damage. (3) Sonography today is a valuable diagnostic method not only applied for screening examinations but also to establish definite diagnoses in many cases. The application of other methods is therefore guided by sonographic findings.