Reported by: Begnaen, Sheena Concepcion, John Angelo

also known as "water in the brain," is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head, convulsion, tunnel vision, and mental disability. Hydrocephalus can also cause death. The name derives from the Greek words - (hydro-) "water", and (kephalos) "head". is the buildup of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Normally, this fluid cushions your brain. When you have too much, though, it puts harmful pressure on your brain.

Congenital hydrocephalus - present at birth. Causes include genetic problems and problems with how the fetus develops. An unusually large head is the main sign of congenital hydrocephalus. Acquired hydrocephalus - can occur at any age. Causes can include head injuries, strokes, infections, tumors and bleeding in the brain. Symptoms of acquired hydrocephalus can include Headache Vomiting and nausea Blurry vision Balance problems Bladder control problems Thinking and memory problems

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Hydrocephalus is usually due to blockage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) outflow in the ventricles or in the subarachnoid space over the brain. In a person without hydrocephalus, CSF continuously circulates through the brain, its ventricles and the spinal cord and is continuously drained away into the circulatory system. Alternatively, the condition may result from an overproduction of the CSF fluid, from a congenital malformation blocking normal drainage of the fluid, or from complications of head injuries or infections. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi* states: The skull of a newborn baby is often full of liquid, either because the matron has compressed it excessively or for other, unknown reasons. The volume of the skull then increases daily, so that the bones of the skull fail to close. In this case, we must open the middle of the skull in three places, make the liquid flow out, then close the wound and tighten the skull with a bandage.

born in the city of El-Zahra an Arab physician who lived in Al-Andalus. He is considered the greatest medieval surgeon to have appeared from the Islamic World, and has been described by some as the father of modern surgery.[1] His greatest contribution to medicine is the Kitab al-Tasrif, a thirty-volume encyclopedia of medical practices. His pioneering contributions to the field of surgical procedures and instruments had an enormous impact in the East and West well into the modern period, where some of his discoveries are still applied in medicine to this day. He was the first physician to describe an ectopic pregnancy, and the first physician to identify the hereditary nature of haemophilia.

The clinical presentation of hydrocephalus varies with chronicity. Acute dilatation of the ventricular system is more likely to manifest with the nonspecific signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. By contrast chronic dilatation (especially in the elderly population) may have a more insidious onset presenting, for instance, with Hakim's triad (Adams triad).

Symptoms of increased intracranial pressure may include headaches, vomiting, nausea, papilledema, sleepin ess or coma. Elevatedintracranial pressure may result in uncal and/or cerebellar tonsill herniation, with resulting life threatening brain stem compression.

Hakim's triad of gait instability, urinary incontinence and dementia is a relatively typical manifestation of the distinct entity normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Focal neurological deficits may also occur, such as abducens nerve palsy and vertical gaze palsy (Parinaud syndrome due to compression of the quadrigeminal plate, where the neural centers coordinating the conjugated vertical eye movement are located). The symptoms depend on the cause of the blockage, the person's age, and how much brain tissue has been damaged by the swelling. In infants with hydrocephalus, CSF builds up in the central nervous system, causing the fontanelle (soft spot) to bulge and the head to be larger than expected. Early symptoms may also include: Eyes that appear to gaze downward Irritability Seizures Separated sutures Sleepiness Vomiting

Symptoms that may occur in older children can include: Brief, shrill, high-pitched cry Changes in personality, memory, or the ability to reason or think Changes in facial appearance and eye spacing Crossed eyes or uncontrolled eye movements Difficulty feeding Excessive sleepiness Headache Irritability, poor temper control Loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence) Loss of coordination and trouble walking Muscle spasticity (spasm) Slow growth (child 05 years) Slow or restricted movement Vomiting

Skull x-ray

Sonography
CT scan MRI

Translumination

monitor VS make sure that the infant earlobe is flat and place rubber foam move the neck, shoulder and head with his body feed infant slowly provide a stimulating environment yet nontiring HOB elevated at 15 degrees prevent hyperextension, flexion, and rotating the head measuring head circumference

It involves the placement of a ventricular catheter (a tube made of silastic), into the cerebral ventricles to bypass the flow obstruction/malfunctioning arachnoidal granulations and drain the excess fluid into other body cavities, from where it can be resorbed. Most shunts drain the fluid into the peritoneal cavity (ventriculo-peritoneal shunt), but alternative sites include the right atrium (ventriculo-atrial shunt), pleural cavity (ventriculo-pleural shunt), and gallbladder. A shunt system can also be placed in the lumbar space of the spine and have the CSF redirected to the peritoneal cavity (Lumbarperitoneal shunt). An alternative treatment for obstructive hydrocephalus in selected patients is the endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), whereby a surgically created opening in the floor of the third ventricle allows the CSF to flow directly to the basal cisterns, thereby shortcutting any obstruction, as in aqueductal stenosis. This may or may not be appropriate based on individual anatomy.