6th Edition of Neurology World Conference 2026

Abstract

Abstract Goal: To provide an overview of encephalocele care and assess the outcomes in our institutions over a three-year period. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all newborns hospitalised and operated on for encephalocele at the Department of Neurosurgery of UPUMS Saifai hospitals between June 2020 and June 2023. . Results This research included 55 babies with encephalocele ranging in age from one day to three years, with a mean age SD of 247 22 days. According to location and morphology, 6 types of encephaloceles were treated: 21 (38.1%) occipital, 11 (20%) atretic, 10 (18.18%) vault, 7 (12.7%) occipital-cervical, 4 (7.2%) ethmoidal, and 2 (3.6%) double encephaloceles. We divided encephaloceles into three sizes: small, medium, and giant. We discovered that 18.18% of newborns had hydrocephalus. Only seven deaths were documented, and five of these had nothing to do with encephalocele or its care. Conclusions: Encephalocele management entails thorough investigations and accurate diagnosis in order to devise the best surgical approach. A favourable outcome requires meticulous patient preparation, surgery, and thorough postoperative care and follow up. Associated hydrocephalus, which was not significantly associated to encephalocele type or size, as well as neurological and non-neurological diseases, are prevalent and should be considered. Proper counselling and education of the parents about the condition (encephaloceles) and its consequences is recommended, as is a long-term follow-up. Folic acid supplementation, which none of the patients in our research had, should be provided before conception to decrease neural tube abnormalities. Counselling should be extensively emphasised in health centers. Encephalocele repair should preferably be done postnatally to allow for acceptable nursing and to reduce the risk of ulceration and stress to the lesion with eventual meningitis. Early healing also allows the face skeleton to develop and reorganize, improving cosmesis.