Hydrocephalus is a disease in which there is an excessive buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain due to some kind of obstruction in the production or circulation of the fluid. Hydrocephalus is very harmful to the human body, such as pediatric hydrocephalus can lead to head circumference, mental retardation, gait disorders, and slow walking in the long term; normal pressure hydrocephalus can lead to memory loss, dementia, gait disorders, and urinary incontinence. Do all patients with hydrocephalus need a shunt? It depends on the patient’s condition. If the patient has severe hydrocephalus, he or she will definitely need a shunt. There are also patients who have radiographs with dilated ventricles and obvious signs of hydrocephalus that interfere with daily life, and these patients are also recommended to have surgery as soon as possible. With a shunt, the excess cerebrospinal fluid is drained out, relieving symptoms and improving the patient’s quality of life. If the patient is found to have hydrocephalus, but the symptoms are not obvious and the radiographs do not show any further development of hydrocephalus. Patients with this type of static hydrocephalus may be considered for observation until the condition has progressed further, then surgery may be performed. Patients with this type of static hydrocephalus also need to pay attention to the fact that they should have regular follow-up examinations as required by their doctors. At the same time, save the information of each examination and bring all the information with you when you visit the doctor, so that the doctor can make a before-and-after comparison to assess whether surgery is needed. In addition, when patients experience obvious symptoms in their daily life, such as headache, unsteady walking and urinary incontinence, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time and undergo shunt surgery after evaluation by the doctor.