Hydrocephalus Support Group

Hi. My name's Darla. I'm almost 19. I've had hydrocephalus since 1 week old due to being born 3 months early and having a brain bleed. I've been shunted since 1 week old with 2 ventriculoperitoneal shunts. I'm not sure what your son's doctors have told you yet, but I'll give you all the information I know... Hydrocephalus is essentially a build up of cerebrospinal fluid within the ventricles of the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid is a watery, clear substance that is produced within the ventricles (fluid filled cavities within the brain). Cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, provides nourishment, protection, and cleanliness for the brain. Normally, a person's brain produces around a pint and a half of fluid per 24 hours. With hydrocephalus, the CSF production or flow is compromised. Either the brain produces too much CSF, too little, or there's an obstruction, like a brain tumor or a cyst. There are 2 types of hydrocephalus children get. Noncommunicating hydrocephalus is hydrocephalus caused by a brain tumor or some sort of obstruction. Once the obstruction is removed, the hydrocephalus does not go away. Communicating hydrocephalus is hydrocephalus resulting from a CSF production problem or a malabsorption problem. Generally, the treatment for hydrocephalus is the surgical insertion of a shunt, a device which diverts CSF to a different body cavity. There are a few different options for shunts to drain. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VP shunt) drains from the ventricles within the brain to the peritoneal cavity (usually the outer stomach lining... not into the stomach itself). A ventriculoatrial shunt (VA shunt) drains from the ventricles within the brain to the right atria of the heart where the excess CSF is drained into the bloodstream and reabsorbed there. A ventriculopleural shunt (VPL shunt) drains from the ventricles within the brain to either the right or the left pleural space. The pleural space is the space between the chest wall and the lungs which house the pleura. A shunt that drains into the corotid artery is just that.... the CSF is collected in the ventricles of the brain and drained into the corotid artery and the CSF is reabsorbed by the bloodstream. A ventriculogalbladder shunt (VGB shunt) drains into the gal bladder. The most common shunt placement is a VP shunt. I just realized this post is really long, so I'm going to end it here. If you need anything or have any more questions or need to vent or whatever, feel free to message me. Good luck and God bless. Keep me posted!

thanks for all the info it help me a lot . glad i know more be the mri. he does have fluid build up. do they put hte shunt in right away after mri if needed or do u get a diff appointment. im also wondering he has this high pitched noise makeing is that a sign of hydro or im just being parranoid. talk to u soon thanks from maleta

Neurosurgeons treat hydrocephalus differently. I was shunted soon after diagnosis. Some children or even adults aren't shunted for a few weeks or even months after diagnosis. As far as the high pitched scream your son has, YES that is a symptom of hydrocephalus. Once he's shunted, the high pitched screaming will become a sign of a shunt malfunction (shunt stops working) and you'll need to remember that. There's a lot to know... it gets easier...

its more like a high pitch screech haha i find out tmrw what time we will have to go to childrens cant wait to know
by the way how r u doing

What's your son's neurosurgeon's name? I've been operated on by every neurosurgeon at Children's at least once...

hi sorry havent been on had to work. so we wnet for our first mri on Thursday and ended up having to stay over . wish they would of told me that be4 i came. I would of brought extra clothes. So his doc Said mri show mild Hydro and we need to follow up with a Neurosurgery clinic . They are located in the hosp. Have to call and make an appointment today.As for now we dont have a neurosurgan. Remember we just found out he has Hydrocephalus last month. How are you doing

I'm not online too much these days anyway.... I get on when I can. As far as neurosurgeons go, I totally do NOT recommend Dr. Arthur J. Dipatri for anything. The other neurosurgeons are great though!

we have dr gump for our first appointment