Hello doctor, My daughter is one day old and on an X-ray, it is showing a cleft-like appearance on the T12 vertebra. The hospital is telling us to follow up with an orthopedic. My question is what can this mean now and in the future?
Hello. The cleft can be just superficial or deep going up to the spinal cord. If it is superficial then it will not be of a major concern. If its deep then there can be tethering of the spinal cord or bifid cord which can lead to neurological disorders of the lower limbs as the child grows. This can be seen very well on ultrasonography done by an experienced sonologist which will give more information when compared to an X-ray. So the sonography needs to be done which is a safe and easy procedure. Sonography of the entire spine is the next step. This is only a second opinion platform. This professional advice provided by me stands subject to the actual examination of report or image and is based entirely on inputs provided to me. It should be correlated with clinical findings. For more information consult a spine health specialist online -->