Adjuvant Therapies for Spinal Lipoma in Children

Medical

• Pain alleviation: For those experiencing discomfort in the back or legs, pain relief medications can be prescribed to mitigate these symptoms.
• Bladder treatment: In addition to catherization, anticholinergic medications (e.g., oxybutynin) serve as an effective treatment for patients who are exhibiting symptoms of an overactive bladder. By relaxing the bladder’s smooth muscles, such medications diminish the frequency and urgency of urination.
• Regulating bowel movement: Postoperative constipation might afflict patients with spinal lipomas, stemming from factors like pain medication usage, diminished physical activity, or spinal cord-induced bowel dysfunction. Escalating options to aid bowel management include oral laxatives (stool softeners, bulk laxatives, or stimulant laxatives); glycerin suppositories; enema; rectal irrigation systems; and antegrade colonic enema (a surgical option in which a channel is created using the appendix stump to create a stoma via which the colon can be irrigated).

Other

• Physical therapy: Outpatient physiotherapy can be beneficial in patients who have residual weakness or gait disturbance.
• Orthotic support: Neurogenic weakness around the ankles/forefoot may require orthotic or orthopedic assessment.