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Neurodisability

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Pediatric Surgery

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Abstract

Children with urgent neurosurgical conditions such as hydrocephalus and spina bifida suffer significantly in resource-constrained settings from delayed and impaired access to care, resulting in a large surgical backlog as well as significant long-term neurodisability.

Hydrocephalus in Africa is often the result of untreated or improperly treated neonatal meningitis, hence increasing its overall incidence. Its treatment relies on the human resource and equipment availability for ventriculo-peritoneal shunting (VPS), though endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) offers an attractive solution for settings where prompt access to care for treating VPS complications is limited.

Spina bifida remains a common major neonatal condition in Africa, responsible for a large burden of long-term disease. Besides the challenge of the oft-required neonatal closure, myelomeningoceles result in a large spectrum of long-term musculoskeletal, neurological, urological, and intestinal challenges which must be considered in the care of these children. Ongoing access to medical care and multi-disciplinary follow-up are, therefore, essential for these children and constitute key priorities in their settings.

The prevention of these major neurological disorders includes national fortification programs for vitamins and minerals, good pre-natal care, and the proper diagnosis and treatment of neonatal meningitis.

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In addition to the following references, the reader is directed to the website for the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, www.ifglobal.org.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Director, CURE Uganda, Mbale, Uganda

    Wegoye Emmanuel

  2. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Dan Poenaru

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  1. Wegoye Emmanuel
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  2. Dan Poenaru
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria

    Emmanuel A. Ameh

  2. Professor of Surgery & Pediatrics, Rady Children’s Hospital, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Stephen W. Bickler

  3. Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Kokila Lakhoo

  4. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Department of Surgery, Ohio State University, Colombus, OH, USA

    Benedict C. Nwomeh

  5. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Dan Poenaru

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Emmanuel, W., Poenaru, D. (2020). Neurodisability. In: Ameh, E.A., Bickler, S.W., Lakhoo, K., Nwomeh, B.C., Poenaru, D. (eds) Pediatric Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41724-6_120

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41724-6_120

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