tethered cord syndrome

My son is almost 3 years old.  He was born with tethered cord(untethered by his ped. neurosurgeon 2 years ago), a fatty lipoma in the lumbar region(removed by his ped. neurosurgeon), a missing vertebrate, and a syrinx secondary to the tethered cord.  The main concern right now is the syrinx, which gets "minutely bigger" with each MRI.  His surgeon states that he wants to just monitor the situation.  Should I just expect that my son will require more surgery in the future due to the syrinx?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

As the syrinx enlarges, it can create symptoms. It is advisable to monitor the growth and any symptoms.

In some cases, the syrinx does not enlarge to the extent that it produces symptoms. But in other, a surgical approach is needed. Usually a shunting procedure is done.

I would advise that you should keep a regular follow up with the surgeon.

Regards