Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the cerebral ventricles.

Under normal conditions the CSF surrounding the brain and spinal cord is contained in the subarachnoid space and in 4 ventricles or cavities in the brain.

There are several causes by which the circulation of this fluid is altered, some of the most frequent are congenital due to malformations, others of adulthood are due to obstruction by lesions that occupy this space and others very frequent are due to a failure in the CSF absorption system.

The symptoms vary depending on the type of hydrocephalus, although the common symptoms care very intense headache that does not improve with analgesics, explosive vomiting, drowsiness and even low lost of consciousness. In the most chronic cases, usually present in older adults, it is due to the failure in resorption and 3 very typical symptoms appear, which are difficulty walking, deterioration of cognitive functions and urinary incontinence.

When necessary, the treatment is surgery, the most frequently indicated is a device that diverts the CSF from one of the ventricles to the peritoneal cavity, commonly known as a shunt. It is an implanted device that regulates the pressure of CSF flow through a catheter that goes from a cerebral ventricle to various cavities outside the skull, usually the peritoneum in the abdomen.

Another procedure indicated for some very specific types of hydrocephalus is the endoscopic ventriculostomy of the 3rd ventricle. It is a minimally invasive surgery, it is performed through a small cranial hole through which an endoscope is introduced and this ventricle communicates with the subarachnoid space.