Learn more about the Hydrocephalus Program: http://www.childrenshospital.org/cent...

Using live illustrations, Benjamin Warf, MD, Neurosurgeon at Boston Children's Hospital, explains hydrocephalus and options for treating it, including an innovate operation he pioneered called endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV).

Hydrocephalus, a buildup of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, is a fairly common condition in children. As Dr. Warf explains in our Pediatric Playbook series, it is caused by a blockage of fluid movement out of the brain’s fluid spaces (ventricles). This can result from a tumor, brain hemorrhage, infection, or a congenital defect in the fluid passages.

Unless it’s treated, the buildup of fluid puts a pressure on the brain that can impair brain function and can even be lifethreatening. The most common treatment for hydrocephalus is surgical placement of a shunt, a tube that drains the excess fluid and routes it into tubing in the child’s belly.

Because shunting often requires a number of operations to repair or replace the shunts as children grow, Dr. Warf has developed a surgical procedure that can avoid the need for shunts in many children. Called ETV, it passes an endoscope into the brain to make small opening in a membrane in the base of the ventricle. This bypassed the obstruction and allows the trapped fluid to escape.

For children who are good candidates for this operation, it can be a cure for hydrocephalus. For more information, call 6173556008 (international: +16173555209).