hydrocephalus?
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Anyone have any experience with this condition? I have a friend who's Son will be born with hydrocephalus and will have to have emergency surgery after he is born. He will need a shunt. Has anyone experienced this...
Thank you so much!
My son has/had hydrocephalus due to a brain tumor, but I have heard of many people having congenital hydrocephalus like her son has for many different reasons. My son now has double VP shunts and it has taken care of the problem for us. He has had to have one revision. About a month after his initial shunts were placed he got an infection in his CSF after the placement of a g-tube and had to have them externalized and replaced. Had my son not had the g-tube surgery, I have no doubt his shunts would have been infection free and he would still have the original ones today.
Anyway, shunt malfunction is something that, unfortunately, you have to worry with for your child's whole life. I know people who have had shunts for 25 years and never had to have them revised, and I know people that have had to have them revised 10 times. Be sure your friend gets a good PEDIATRIC neurosurgeon to place the shunts and to follow up with throughout the baby's life. Also, tell her not to be afraid to ask the infection rate of her surgeon. Our surgeon was very upfront with his -- 2%, with the national average being around 8%. I'm sure they will educate her on signs of a malfunction/infection so that she can be on the lookout for that. Most kids with hydrocephalus will lead a very normal life, however there are those kids out there that do have significant brain damage from their ventricles being over dilated.
I will pray for your friend's baby and I wish them the best of luck!
Re: hydrocephalus?
My son has/had hydrocephalus due to a brain tumor, but I have heard of many people having congenital hydrocephalus like her son has for many different reasons. My son now has double VP shunts and it has taken care of the problem for us. He has had to have one revision. About a month after his initial shunts were placed he got an infection in his CSF after the placement of a g-tube and had to have them externalized and replaced. Had my son not had the g-tube surgery, I have no doubt his shunts would have been infection free and he would still have the original ones today.
Anyway, shunt malfunction is something that, unfortunately, you have to worry with for your child's whole life. I know people who have had shunts for 25 years and never had to have them revised, and I know people that have had to have them revised 10 times. Be sure your friend gets a good PEDIATRIC neurosurgeon to place the shunts and to follow up with throughout the baby's life. Also, tell her not to be afraid to ask the infection rate of her surgeon. Our surgeon was very upfront with his -- 2%, with the national average being around 8%. I'm sure they will educate her on signs of a malfunction/infection so that she can be on the lookout for that. Most kids with hydrocephalus will lead a very normal life, however there are those kids out there that do have significant brain damage from their ventricles being over dilated.
I will pray for your friend's baby and I wish them the best of luck!