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Long-term results in the treatment of hydrocephalus
1Egleston Children's Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia.
Neurosurgery Clinics of North America
|October 1, 1993
Insights
Surgical ventricular shunting treats infantile hydrocephalus, but predicting developmental outcomes remains challenging. This review examines neurologic and intellectual results following this common surgical intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Infantile hydrocephalus is a condition requiring surgical intervention in most cases.
- Ventricular shunting is the primary surgical treatment for progressive hydrocephalus in infants.
- Predicting long-term developmental outcomes for treated infants is a significant clinical challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the outcomes of surgical therapy for infantile hydrocephalus.
- To specifically analyze the neurologic and intellectual development of treated patients.
- To provide insights into the efficacy and limitations of current surgical treatments.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on surgical treatment for infantile hydrocephalus.
- Analysis of studies reporting neurologic and intellectual outcomes post-ventricular shunting.
- Synthesis of data to assess developmental trajectories in treated infants.
Main Results:
- Surgical ventricular shunting is effective in managing progressive hydrocephalus.
- Variability in neurologic and intellectual outcomes is observed among treated infants.
- Predictive factors for developmental outcomes require further investigation.
Conclusions:
- While ventricular shunting effectively treats infantile hydrocephalus, predicting individual patient outcomes remains difficult.
- Further research is needed to identify factors influencing long-term neurologic and intellectual development.
- Optimizing surgical strategies and supportive care may improve developmental trajectories.
Abstract:
The majority of infants presenting with progressive hydrocephalus are now treated surgically with ventricular shunting. It is difficult to predict the eventual developmental outcome of most treated patients. This article reviews the results of surgical therapy for infantile hydrocephalus with particular attention to neurologic and intellectual outcome.