What is obstructive hydrocephalus?

Obstructive hydrocephalus is a common neurosurgical disorder, a pathological phenomenon caused by congenital or acquired factors that obstruct the cerebrospinal fluid circulation pathway above the fourth ventricle, causing obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid pathway into the subarachnoid space, characterized by excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid leading to enlarged ventricles and increased intracranial pressure that can be accompanied by secondary brain parenchymal atrophy, with differences in clinical manifestations in young children and adults, as follows Young children: large head, sunset sign, vomiting, visual impairment, difficulty in sucking and eating, inward eye tilt, head droop, weakness or spastic paralysis of limbs, intellectual developmental impairment, and even convulsions and drowsiness; 2. Adults: symptoms such as intermittent headache, head swelling, head sinking, dizziness, tinnitus, ear blockage, decreased vision, and weakness of lower limbs. Obstructive hydrocephalus is often accompanied by cerebral edema, which is essentially caused by the infiltration of large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricles into the shrunken brain tissue, causing it to contain excessive cerebrospinal fluid. Obstructive hydrocephalus can be classified as follows: 1) hydrocephalus in one or both ventricles caused by interventricular foramen, or third ventricle obstruction; 2) hydrocephalus in both lateral ventricles and third ventricle or third ventricle caused by obstruction of the middle cerebral aqueduct; 3) hydrocephalus in both ventricles and third ventricle caused by obstruction of the fourth ventricle and dilatation of the middle cerebral aqueduct; 4) hydrocephalus in the lateral ventricles, third ventricle, middle cerebral aqueduct, and dilatation of the middle cerebral aqueduct caused by obstruction of the median and lateral foramen of the fourth ventricle. 4, hydrocephalus in the lateral ventricle, the third ventricle, the middle cerebral aqueduct and the fourth ventricle caused by obstruction of the median foramen and lateral foramen of the fourth ventricle.