Craniofacial/Neurosurgery: a multidisciplinary approach to the repair of meningoencephaloceles in a third world country.

ABSTRACT

The repair of meningoencephaloceles in a third world country does not have to be an unrealized goal. Utilizing a team of specialized experienced physicians to provide the treatment, patient selection, comprehensive planning for all surgical variability, and cooperative management of the patients postoperatively with the hosting physicians is essential to the success of these surgeries. In 2007, a team of physicians, including a neurosurgeon, a craniofacial surgeon, a neurosurgical resident, and nursing personnel, traveled for the first time to Davao, in the Philippines, to repair and reconstruct four patients with meningoencephalocele. The planning, surgical approach, and outcome of the repair of this defect are discussed in this article.