Giant Symptomatic Meningocele as a Delayed, Adult Complication of Lipomyelomeningocele

Background: An expanding cohort of patients with spina bifida live well into adulthood and pose complex management challenges due to unique combinations of adult health issues overlying congenital problems. Case Description: We present a case of a 45-year-old woman with an expanding, disfiguring, painful lumbar meningocele more than 40 years after her only surgery as a 3-year-old child. A team of pediatric and adult neurosurgeons as well as plastic/reconstructive surgeons successfully performed surgery to obliterate the meningocele, with preservation of her baseline functional status, and no evidence of recurrence after more than 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions: Symptomatic meningocele may present in a long-delayed fashion in adult patients with a history of spina bifida. Surgical treatment may provide symptomatic benefit.