ANTERIOR ENCEPHALOCELES - A REPORT OF 30 CASES

Thirty cases of anterior encephalocele treated in our centre over an 1 8-year period (from 1973 to 1990) are presented. At the time of surger y over 60% of the patients were under the age of 2 years, and 40% were aged under 1 year. Only one child was over 10 years of age. Twenty-si x patients had the frontoethmoidal type of defect, while two each had frontonasal- and nasoorbital-type lesions. Twenty-five children had va rying degrees of hypertelorism. Four had an enlarged head and four mic rocephaly. In 26 patients one-stage repair of the encephalocele and re construction of the orbits was undertaken. A ventriculoperitoneal shun t was performed prior to definitive surgery in three patients with gro ss hydrocephalus. There was no postoperative mortality. Six patients h ad postoperative CSF rhinorrhoea, three of them requiring a lumboperit oneal shunt. This study highlights the role of one-stage repair of thi s defect.