At Texas Children’s Hospital, our neurosurgeons perform over 350 surgeries a year for the treatment of hydrocephalus, a condition where a patient cannot absorb the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that is made as fast as it is produced. The CSF builds up and puts pressure on the brain causing injury.
“Hydrocephalus is a rare disease but it is the most common condition that pediatric neurosurgeons treat,” said Texas Children’s neurosurgeon Dr. William Whitehead. “The most common causes of hydrocephalus in infants are intraventricular hemorrhage of prematurity, spina bifida and congenital malformations of the brain, but it can also be caused by head trauma, brain tumors and infections.”
The most common treatment for this condition is a shunt, but some patients can be treated with an endoscopic third ventriculostomy with or without choroid plexus coagulation. This involves making an opening between the inside of the brain and the space around it and coagulating the part of the brain that makes the spinal fluid. This will treat the condition and bring things back into balance in 40 to 50 percent of the cases.
In partnership with the Hydrocephalus Association, Texas Children’s will co-sponsor the 2017 Houston Walk to End Hydrocephalus. The walk will be held this Saturday, October 28, at Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park at 105 Sabine St, Houston, TX 77007. Check-in begins at 8 a.m.
The event is part of the Hydrocephalus Association’s nationwide fundraising effort to raise money for hydrocephalus research, education, advocacy, and community support networks. The walk raised nearly $1.6 million last year thanks to more than 12,000 participants in 38 locations across the country.
“This walk supports the Hydrocephalus Association, which is a great organization,” Whitehead said. “Through these collaborative efforts, this fundraising event helps call attention to this medical condition at a national level so that more research funds will be devoted to find a cure for hydrocephalus.”
Ready to lace up and support a worthy cause? Click here to join the Texas Children’s team as we walk to find a cure for hydrocephalus. For more information, contact Sheila Martinez at ext. 2-0653.