Hydrosepharus

mum2beagain, did your son get surgery? Thanks.

[tinh]

Did your son have any symtomp? and what symtomp should infant have for Hydrocephurus? Thanks

[nalla]

Hi,
Just in case mumtobeagain doesn't come on today, yes, her son has a shunt and is doing well.

Well the most obvious sign of hydro in an infant is an enlarged head. The fontenal (soft spot on top of head) will probabaly be buldging,the eyes will be sun-setting, that is when the eyes are  focused downward like they are looking at the ground, they may also appear tired looking all the time, vomiting, cranky, developmental delays, lethargic, poor sleeping and eating, and they could have a seizure if not taken care of.

My son was diagnosed with this before he was born through ultrasound. But with the condition he has it was expected (but you can have hydro without spina bifida). Most children are diagnosed with this early on after they are born, but some don't develope it or show signs till much later.

In most cases a person that has hydrocephalus needs a shunt placed.

Do you suspect your baby having hydro? I can try and help you figure it out if you let me know what the signs that he/she is having. Or I can give you any info that I can about the conditon and/or surgery if you like.

[nalla]

I forgot to mention that a child can have hydro and not have all the symptoms, they might just have one or two. When Nathans shunt malfunctioned, he didn't have all of the typical symptoms that you "should" when there is a problem.

[tinh]

My son is 8.5 months and his HC is 19 inches.  He is happy and no symtom at all.  My pedetrician refers to Radiologist (brain specialst), we met the Dr., last month, Dr. tests his strength and flexibility and stated nothing wrong with him and ask to come back in two months.  So far, he is very nornal and healthy but I just worry and concern.  Thanks a lot.

[nalla]

Do you live in the U.S?
Your peds. Dr. really should refure you to a pediatric neurologist if he is concerned about hydrocpehalus, not a radiologist. The only thing a radiologist does for us is read the CT results and lets our neuro know if there is a problem.

Did your son have a CT or an MRI done? If there is a concern about hydro, then he really needs one. Checking strength and flexability won't tell if your son has hydro or not. My son is never tested for those things when there is a problem with his shunt. His neuro first gets a CT done. That is the only thing that can tell.
Did your Dr. tell you what his HC was in cm? That is usually how they measure it. I'm pretty sure around 40 is normal for an 8 month old. I'm horrible at my math, but I think 19 in is about 50 cm.
Is your peds. Dr. concerned about hydro because of the HC?
Usually, but not always, there are other signs other than the head being enlarged. I would think a child would have at least one other symptom. Since your son isn't showing any other signs then I would assume everything is fine.

But the ONLY way to tell if your son has this or not is by looking inside of the head with a CT or an MRI.
I'm a little concerned that all the radiologist did was check strength and flexabilty. Your son really needs to be seen by a pediatric neurologist.
I hope everything turns out to be ok!

[tinh]

Nalla,
I am sorry for the typo.  Yes, we went to see a pediatric neurologist and the Dr. said, my son is ok.  He would like to see us back in two months.  Yes, I live in Virginia, USA, and 8 miles from White House. Thanks.

[nalla]

I should have been more specific, he needs to be seen by a pediatric neurosurgeon.

[nalla]

Oh! Ok, that makes me feel better that you saw a neuro. Why didn't he order a CT?
If your son developes any of the symptoms that I mentioned in my previous post, then he should be seen sooner than 2 months. But it sounds like everything is fine with your son.
Feel free to ask me questions any time!

[tinh]

Nalle,
Thanks a lot.  My son has no symptom at all beside his head a little bigger than other kids.  The dr. said some babies develop faster than other.  He only cries at night because he has Ezema dry skin and scratching all night.

[mum2beagain]

Hi,

Yes my son has hydro and a shunt, he is doing very well. It sounds like your son has seen the appropriate doctors, be assured if he had hydro they wouldn't be leaving it six months before they saw him again.
My friends son has a very big head, on the 95th centile, he doesn't have any medical problems at all, he is a bright healthy little boy who's head is larger than avaerage.

[mum2beagain]

Sorry two months before they saw him again!

When my son was diagnosed he had weekly ultrasound scans through the fontanella for nearly three months, during that time his head was getting larger and the ventricles were dilating but strangly enough the pressure wasn't increasing much and there was no damage done to his brain during that time, but it was decided to shunt him because his ventricles were dilating so much.

My son does have some damage to his brain, but that was caused by a ventricular bleed he had at 3 days old (he was 8 weeks premature) and as I said the hydrocephalus itself hasn't caused any further damage.

It is good that the doctor will follow up in 2 months time, but shold you have any concerns about the symptoms Nalla mentioned don't hesitate to take him back sooner.

Best wishes.