To characterize perioperative morbidity and mortality in adult patients with spina bifida undergoing laparotomy.

We retrospectively studied the postoperative complications of 59 operations of patients with spina bifida undergoing abdominal laparotomies for urologic indications at 3 institutions. We evaluated postoperative complications using the Clavien-Dindo classification scale.

The overall complication rate was 91.5%. The most common complications were ileus, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infection, and wound infection. Over 40% of the patients developed a class 3 or 4 complication requiring subsequent surgery or intensive care unit admission. The hospital readmission rate was 42% and was correlated with higher-grade complications. On multivariable analysis, only older age was significantly associated with grade of complication.

These data demonstrate that adult patients with spina bifida comprise a unique population that faces an extremely high surgical risk even in centers of excellence. As patients with spina bifida live longer lives, thanks to modern medicine, there is a timely opportunity for research on perioperative management in these patients to improve postsurgical outcomes.