Background: Myelomeningocele is one of the common congenital malformation in childhood that has association with many disorders. in addition to routine management of associated disorders surgical repair of myelomeningocele has been considered in many cases . The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of myelomeningocele surgical repair in prognosis of children with myelomeningocele

Materials and Methods: This is a case-control study from 2001 to 2013 in 60 infants with myelomeningocele in two department of neurosurgery in Arak and Ilam cities (Vali Asr and Imam Khomeni hospitals, respectively). Infants were divided into two groups according to operable and inoperable cases (each group includes 30 cases). The prognosis of two groups was investigated with respect to mortality, and Stark and Drummond disability rating scale. Data were analyzed with SPSS 18 software.

Results: Case group had better prognoses compared to control with respect to handicap (p=0.003), urinary tract disorders (p=0.006), IQ (p=0.001), global disability(p=0.006) and mortality rate, but there was no difference between two groups with respect to hydrocephalus(p=0.3).

Conclusion: According to the results, mortality, disability and prognosis of infants with myelomeningocele that underwent operation were better. In conclusion, early myelomeningocele repair is advised for infants, because it affects the improvement of prognosis and the quality of patients' life.