Limited dorsal myeloschisis associated with multiple vertebral segmentation disorder.

A 3-year-old girl was admitted to our department with spina bifida occulta. At birth, thoracic dysplasia with severe respiratory dysfunction and a soft pedunculated mass connecting with an intradural mass were noted. The patient did not start to walk and partial removal of the intradural mass was performed via a laminectomy of the fused vertebrae. There was no boundary between the spinal cord and the mass and the histological diagnosis of this mass was connective tissue. The anomalies in this case were considered to be multiple vertebral segmentation disorder (MVSD) and limited dorsal myeloschisis. The coincidence of these anomalies might suggest the causal genesis of MVSD. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel