Background
Meningoencephalocele is a skull defect that includes herniation of the cerebrospinal fluid and the brain tissue, and of meninges through it.
Case presentation
We report the anaesthetic management in a case of a 14-day-old neonate with a huge occipital meningoencephalocele referred for surgical excision and repair. The major anaesthetic challenges encountered in the management of occipital meningoencephalocele were to maintain adequate positioning of the neonate on the operation theatre table during induction and securing the airway thereafter.
Conclusions
The anaesthetic management of an occipital meningoencephalocele poses challenges for an anaesthesiologist in terms of positioning, difficulty encountered in securing airway particularly in the lateral position, blood loss and perioperative care; thus, attention should always be paid for proper positioning and perfect handling of airways along with replacement of blood loss intraoperatively.