The effects of admission to hospital and surgery on children with spina bifida.

Up to the age of nine years, 43 actively-treated cases of myelomeningocele had had an average stay of 28 weeks in hospital, one-fifth having spent between one and two years in hospital, and each child having had an average of six operations. After the age of two years there was a tendency to withhold surgery in more hopeless cases. The number of hospital admissions and surgical procedures declined appreciably after the children's admission to school. Girls spent longer periods in hospital than boys. Children with IQs of less than 80 spent twice as long in hospital compared with intellectually competitive children, probably because of the greater frequency of hydrocephalus and other physical handicaps. Admission to hospital in itself seemed to have little effect on intellectual status. Parents' comments showed that hospital admission held few fears for their children, except when orthopaedic procedures were involved. It is concluded that because of their familiarity with hospital, the emotional hazards associated with frequent admission to hospital seems to have little effect upon the behaviour of these children.