Hydrocephalus Treatment

Hydrocephalus Treatment

The usual treatment of hydrocephalus, whatever its cause, is the surgical insertion of a shunt system. A shunt is a flexible plastic tube that carries extra CSF away from the brain. The shunt system consists of the shunt itself, a valve that keeps the CSF flowing in the correct direction, and a long thin tube called a catheter. The shunt is inserted into one of the brain’s ventricles. The catheter and valve are attached to it, and the catheter tubing is threaded underneath the skin to another part of the body (usually the heart or the abdomen) where the excess CSF can be absorbed. The shunt system needs periodic replacement in children as they grow or in adults if the tubing becomes blocked or infected.

A few people with noncommunicating hydrocephalus can be treated by surgery on the third of the brain’s four ventricles. In this procedure, the surgeon uses a miniature camera and instrument to locate the third ventricle and cut a small hole in its floor. This hole allows the CSF to bypass the blockage between the ventricles and flow toward its normal outlet from the brain.