ReviewChild's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery2021
Split cord malformation and tethered cord syndrome: case series with long-term follow-up and literature review.
Review in Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surgical treatment of a combined split cord malformation and spinal cord lipoma: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026Article
- Article
- Composite type split cord malformation: a two-center study and analysis of a series of 25 cases.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Tandem Detethering: A Novel One-Stage Approach Combining Cervicothoracic Cord Release Followed by Filum Terminale Sectioning.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The expression of GSTP1 in the filum terminale of children with tethered cord syndrome.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Neurological deterioration in an adult patient with split cord malformation following untethering via filum sectioning: Case report.North American Spine Society journal · 2025Article
- Sleep quality, anxiety, and depression among perioperative caregivers of children with tethered cord syndrome: a cross-sectional survey analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- A heterozygous mutation in the ALPL gene in an adolescent with Chiari malformation type I accompanied by scoliosis, tethered cord and diastematomyelia.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2023Article
- A Case of Neonate with Split Cord Malformation Presenting with Hypoplasia of the Left Lower Extremity.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Clinical analysis of tethered cord syndrome and gene expression profiling of wound healing surgery.Postepy dermatologii i alergologii · 2023Article
- Gastrulation and Split Cord Malformation.Advances and technical standards in neurosurgery · 2023Article
- Thoracolumbar surgery for degenerative spine diseases complicated with tethered cord syndrome: A case report.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of minimally invasive surgery in children with occult tethered cord syndrome.Translational pediatrics · 2022Article
- Treatment of spinal deformity with diastematomyelia type I: one-stage, two-stage surgery and new technique (vertebral column resection through wide bony septum).Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo date, the description of the natural course of concurrent tethered cord syndrome with a low-lying conus medullaris and split cord malformation is lacking in the literature. We report a cohort of adult and pediatric patients with concurrent malformations and long-term follow-up.
methodsPatients with concurrent diagnoses of split cord malformation and tethered cord (radiographic evidence supporting clinical symptomatology) were identified between 2000 and 2020. Patients without sufficient documentation or at least 6-month follow-up were excluded.
resultsNine patients were identified with an average of 8.9 years follow-up (range 2-31 years). The most common symptoms were radiating leg pain and lower extremity paresthesias, occurring in 44% of patients; and bladder/bowel dysfunction, worsening scoliosis, and acute motor deterioration were less common. Two patients were successfully treated conservatively for mild leg pain and paresthesias. For those who underwent surgery, all experienced symptomatic relief upon first follow-up. Two had late symptomatic recurrence; one 4 and 8 years after initial surgery; and the other, 11, 26, and 31 years after initial surgery.
conclusionThe rarity of concurrent split cord and tethered cord syndrome with a low-lying conus makes management difficult to formulate. This series supplements our knowledge of the long-term outcomes and lessons learned from the management of these patients. Approximately 25% of patients were managed conservatively and had symptomatic improvement. For surgically managed patients, with intractable pain or worsening neurological function, symptoms can still recur over a decade after intervention. Reoperation, however, can still be beneficial, can provide years of relief, and should be considered.
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