Can Hydrocephalus Change??

Hi, my name is Lynda  and I'm the proud mama of a beautiful boy. He's wonderful but I'm worried about him. He was induced 4 wks early due to his large size and my complications due to pregnancy. He's always been in the top 5% in growth, but we noticed that his head started growing really really fast at about 9 mo. His ped wouldn't listen to me, calling my concerns just first time mommy syndrome whatever that is. Found a new ped who did a MRI. They diagnosed him with a subdurral hematoma, macrocephaly, and benign exterior hydorcephulas. Luckily his hematoma resolved on it's own, but his head is still growing. He's 2 now, with a head circumfance of 56 cm, he's 3ft and weighs 37 lbs. His last CT Scan showed he had enlarged ventricles and his neurosurgeon finally said it's due to hydrocephalus. Just like with the hematoma he wants to "wait and see". What I don't understand is how did his hydrocephalus go from being exterior to being interior? And why wasn't it noticed before? The CT scan before this one said everything had cleared up. Can hydro appear suddenly? Is this a whole new hydro? His neurologist won't see me till sept. and I don't know what to do. He does have some developmental delays and definitely has a speech delay. Should I badger my ins. to get me another neuro?

[AnnieBrooke]

I would definitely ask to see another neurosurgeon, maybe either get another recommendation from your son's pedi or just insist at the same place where the neurosurgeon said it is hydrocephalus that you be seen sooner than September even if it means seeing another doctor in the same practice.  (If they go for that then you won't have to badger any insurance companies.)  I don't know much about head measurements but was curious, so I measured my son's head, he's 2 1/2 and it is 50 cm.  

[mum2beagain]

Has his head circumference suddenly increase, ie gone up more than a few percentiles or has he always had a large head. Hydrocephalus can (for no apparent reason) appear suddenly, some one can be born with it or it can develop as a result of brain injury or trauma.
My son developed hydro as a result of ventricular bleeds at birth, he was "watched:" for almost 3 months at which point his head circumference was increasing by 1cm a week. It was then decided it was time to do something and he was shunted.

If you type ASBAH into Google (or other search engine) you will find the web site for the Association of Hydrocephalus and Spina Biffida, it is a superb website with lots of information.

I personally would try my best to get another neuro on the case. Also if you haven't already get your child assessed by your local early interventinon services, he will likely qualify for speech and occupational therapy.

Best of luck.

[micahsmomma]

  thank you both for your comments! To mumtobeagain, he has been an early intervention for a year for his speech and physical delays. Though my case worker and I feel we should get a new speech person since mine is always canceling. Thanks for the website I'm definitely going to check it out.
  I'm calling his ped in the morning because like you I want to see about a second opinion and Micah has not been sleeping though the night for the last week. He's been waking up and "checking" on me and wanting to sleep on the couch.
Thank you both.