Sonographic duplication artifact of the spinal cord in infants and children.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe the features of sonographic duplication artifacts that we have occasionally seen when imaging the spinal cord of infants and children, mostly with postrepair myelomeningocele. METHODS: Sonography of the spine was performed for the evaluation of neonates with suspected spinal cord abnormalities and of older children in the follow-up of postrepair open-spine defects. RESULTS: Each of our patients had a single spinal cord, but the duplication artifact was seen with 2 brands of scanners and with both linear array and vector array transducers. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of duplication artifacts when imaging the spinal cord of infants and children should be recognized as such and should not be misinterpreted as representing diastematomyelia or diplomyelia.