When is the best time to operate on a child with myelomeningocele?

The best age for pediatric myelomeningocele surgery is from 1 to 1.5 years old, when the facial deformation is not serious, and it is not suitable for surgery within 1 year old, but at least not later than 3 years old. Especially for patients over 16 years old, surgery is not recommended because the bones are already deformed and the postoperative results are not good. For children under 5 years old with sternocleidomastoid, one incision is made, which is located above the clavicle and is a transverse incision, and for children over 6 years old with sternocleidomastoid, two incisions are made, and in addition to the sternocleidomastoid head, another incision is made to remove the mastoid head behind the ear. The surgery is relatively safe and will not affect future development. If the child has strabismus, it is still necessary to visit the ophthalmologist, as strabismus surgery will not help. After the strabismus surgery, it is recommended that children within 5 years old wear a neck brace for 6 weeks to further correct the strabismus posture and wear it for 12 hours a day during the day; while patients over 6 years old need to be fixed with a cast and maintain the fixation for 6 weeks and do neck traction for 3-6 months after 6 weeks to avoid adhesions or even recurrence.