Occipital meningoencephalocele in a newborn: A case report in East Africa
Document Type
Case Report
Department
Medical College (East Africa); Paediatrics and Child Health (East Africa)
Abstract
Introduction: Encephalocele refers to protrusion of cranial contents through a bony skull defect. Prevalence of encephaloceles in East Africa is approximately 2 per 10,000 livebirths, with occipital encephaloceles making the least proportion of these in this region. We present a case which was diagnosed postnatally and managed surgically with good outcome and few anticipated complications.
Case presentation: Newborn baby delivered to a 26-year-old mother at 38 weeks of gestation by spontaneous vaginal delivery, with swelling on the occipital region since birth. Physical examination revealed a mass measuring 8 cm by 6 cm over the occiput. Initial cranial ultrasound and MRI of the brain revealed an occipital myelomeningocele with part of the right cerebellar lobe, meninges, and CSF herniating through the defect in the occipital skull bone. Surgical correction was successfully done. The patient developed CSF leakage due to hydrocephalus 1-week post-surgery and VP shunt placed to relieve the increased intracranial pressure.
Discussion: This case highlights a very rare neurosurgical congenital defect in East Africa that was managed as early as possible in a low resource setting with minimal post-surgical complications.
Conclusion: There is a need for high index of suspicion for encephalocele during antenatal ultrasound screening for prenatal diagnosis. Early surgical repair and prompt post operative follow up help to minimize complications especially in low resource settings where morbidity can be high due to high costs of managing complications.
Publication (Name of Journal)
International Journal of Surgery Case Reports
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2024.110058
Recommended Citation
Ngowi, E.,
Clement, M.,
Fidaali, Z.,
Abdallah, Y.,
Ally, P.
(2024). Occipital meningoencephalocele in a newborn: A case report in East Africa. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 122(110058), 1-6.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_fhs_mc_paediatr_child_health/544
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.