[Critical observations on the therapy of hydrocephalus using so-called "arrested" hydrocephalus as an example]

Abstract

A comparative clinical and radiological follow-up study was conducted on 109 hydrocephalic children to study the criteria of shunt dependency. 50 children had a normal functioning shunt, 34 children had an ASD-shunt combination, 14 children had a non-functioning shunt without pressure symptoms and 11 children had the shunt previously removed. None of the cases showed pressure symptoms during examination. The following conclusions could be drawn: 1. The smaller the ventricular system, the higher the complication rate. 2. The standard of well-being did not correspond with the amount of the redevelopment of the compressed brain tissue. 3. A "well-drained" ventricular system was not necessarily a sign of an adequate hydrocephalic therapy, but rather a sign of a pathologic overdrainage. 4. The broader ventricular aspects of the suction-protected ASD shunt resembled the findings of the "arrested hydrocephalus" and seemed to be closer to the goal of hydrocephalus therapy, namely, shunt independency.