How to treat lipoma of filum terminale in a new born?

Question

Hi doctor,

My 3-day-old infant is having a small bump in her lower back. Our doctor said it is a lipoma filum terminale through an ultrasound investigation and advised surgery as a treatment plan. Now she needs an MRI scan to confirm whether that lump is linked to the spinal cord, but as we do not have any doctor specialized in child MRI and cannot use sleep medicine to make her sleep, there is a high risk of oxygen drop. I want to know if that surgery is necessary for the early stage of her life? Will it affect her spinal cord if I wait for a few months to do MRI? She is very fine now, her legs and everything is working fine.

I want to know the risk factors if I delay the MRI and surgery.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Lipoma is a benign tumor of the fat tissue. It usually grows slowly, and it is not very invasive. So, I think that we can wait for a couple of months to perform an MRI, as the baby is tiny, and this procedure may impose breathing complications as it needs sedation.

In the meantime, I recommend you follow up with an ultrasound every month to monitor the dimensions of the lesion for possible growth and progression.

I hope you will find this answer helpful.

I remain at your disposal for any further questions whenever you need me.

Kind regards.