[Results of cerebral sonography in children with myelomeningoceles].

47 infants with myelomeningocele were investigated by ultrasound after the surgical closure of the cele and followed up to 12 months. The aim was the early diagnosis of hydrocephalus and the recording of morphological features of the ventricular system in comparison with hydrocephali of other origins, especially of Chiari-Syndrome. 31 infants needed a shunt due to rapid progress of the ventricular dilatation and clinical signs of a raised intracranial pressure: in 25 of this group (81%) the ultrasound investigation demonstrated a Chiari-Syndrome. Of 16 further infants who definitely did not need a shunt, only 5 (31%) had a Chiari-Syndrome. Therefore, the first sonographic examination seems to provide a certain prognostic evidence for the development of a hydrocephalus.