Medicine » Surgery

Hydrocephalus

Edited by Sadip Pant and Iype Cherian, ISBN 978-953-51-0162-8, Hard cover, 214 pages, Publisher: InTech, Chapters published February 24, 2012 under CC BY 3.0 license
DOI: 10.5772/1212

Description of hydrocephalus can be found in ancient medical literature from Egypt as old as 500 AD. Hydrocephalus is characterized by abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain. This results in the rise of intracranial pressure inside the skull causing progressive increase in the size of the head, seizure, tunneling of vision, and mental disability. The clinical presentation of hydrocephalus varies with age of onset and chronicity of the underlying disease process. Acute dilatation of the ventricular system manifests with features of raised intracranial pressure while chronic dilatation has a more insidious onset presenting as Adams triad. Treatment is generally surgical by creating various types of cerebral shunts. Role of endoscopic has emerged lately in the management of hydrocephalus.