TIMING OF SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH INFECTED SPINAL DERMAL SINUSES - REPORT OF 2 CASES

In the past, if infection was present at the time a spinal dermal sinu s was discovered, the sinus opening and cerebrospinal fluid were steri lized with a course of appropriate antibiotic therapy prior to the sur gical intervention. The cases of two children with an infected spinal dermal sinus are reported here. One patient developed acute paraplegia during the initial stage of antibiotic therapy, and the second patien t, who was admitted only with signs of fever and irritability, experie nced after antibiotic therapy a complete myelographic blockade seconda ry to a large infected intradural dermoid tumor. The authors stress th e importance of early neuroradiological and neurosurgical management o f these lesions, even when an infection is present.