What to do about hydrocephalus after open-heart surgery

  According to statistics, the global incidence of hydrocephalus is 8 per 10,000, and the annual number of new patients with hydrocephalus in China is about 360,000, of which about 40% are children or infant patients. Faced with such a high incidence rate, many neurosurgeons cannot help but worry. So, what exactly is causing the increasing number of people with hydrocephalus.  Studies have found that congenital factors are the main factors leading to hydrocephalus in infants. The normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid is affected by malformations of the spinal column and midbrain conduits caused by the mother’s exposure to certain chemical radioactive substances during pregnancy; when tumors appear in the skull, they block the condition of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation channels, and the cerebral fluid cannot be absorbed normally when it is continuously produced, which leads to excessive secretion of cerebrospinal fluid causing hydrocephalus. Infection is also a major factor leading to hydrocephalus. Due to septic inflammation, fibrous tissue tends to proliferate, thus obstructing the circulation channels of cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, hydrocephalus can also occur after emergency craniotomy for traumatic brain injury or cerebral hemorrhage in many patients in clinical practice. As mentioned above, the causes of hydrocephalus are very complex, and the treatment options for different causes of hydrocephalus are different. If the hydrocephalus is caused by an infection, anti-infective treatment is required, and other tissue lesions are monitored during treatment. If there is too much cerebrospinal fluid, in addition to lowering the intracranial pressure, a shunt of the cerebrospinal fluid is needed, which requires surgical treatment.  What about hydrocephalus after craniotomy?  This may be a question for many patients with hydrocephalus. If the arachnoid granules are blocked due to irritation of the bloody cerebrospinal fluid after craniotomy, it can lead to traffic hydrocephalus. If the blood clot blocks the cerebrospinal fluid circulation pathway after craniotomy, especially the third and fourth ventricles are blocked, this condition is considered obstructive hydrocephalus. Whether it is a traffic or obstructive condition, it needs to be treated by shunt surgery. The surgical treatment of hydrocephalus is very important in terms of the type of procedure to be performed. Traditional shunts have many complications. In addition to blockage and intracranial infection, shunt rupture and excessive or insufficient drainage of cerebrospinal fluid can occur. The cerebrospinal fluid specialist technology not only has a set of advanced and mature specialist technology for all kinds of hydrocephalus, but also has a set of systematic solutions for various postoperative complications, which greatly improves the treatment effect.