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Neurosurgery and pregnancy

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Mr N Kitchen, Victor Horsley Department of Neurosurgery (Box 31), The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK; neil.kitchen@uclh.nhs.uk

Accepted for publication 21 February 2008

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

While obstetric causes of maternal mortality have declined, non-obstetric causes of maternal morbidity and mortality have increased.¹ Among the leading non-obstetric causes are neurosurgical pathologies. Although a pregnant woman is essentially no more susceptible to developing a neurosurgical problem than a non-pregnant one, because of physiological and anatomical changes associated with pregnancy, there are certain diseases that are of particular concern to the neurosurgeon. These are subarachnoid haemorrhage (most commonly caused by cerebral aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations), intracranial tumours, and lower back pain and disc herniation.

The epidemiology, pathophysiology, presentation, investigation and management of each of these neurosurgical problems will be discussed, focusing particularly on how the pregnant state influences each of these factors. Furthermore, brief consideration will be given to the management of ventriculoperitoneal shunts during pregnancy, and some general cautions regarding standard neurosurgical practices in the pregnant woman will also be highlighted.

Evidently, the care of a pregnant . . . [Full text of this article]

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