nerology

My child has been diagnois with Dandy Walker Varaint. My question is what are the chances of having anther child born with  Dandy Walker and what are the chance of her giving birth to a normal child.

Do you know of any leading doctors that specialize in Dandy Walker??

Thanks for your time,
Cherilyn

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Cherilyn:

Sorry to hear about your child.  The etiology of Dandy-Walker is unknown, but the processes of it's development is thought to be maldevelopment or slow development of the foramen of Mangendie of the 4th ventricle.  The Dandy-Walker variant is less understood.  We think that once you have a congenital abnormality, the likelihood of having another child with one is increased.  However, it is only mildly increased by a few percent at most.  Depending on your ethical standards, a Dandy-Walker should be very visable on ultrasound and detected prenatally.  

Malformation of one part of the brain, suggests that other part of the brain may have abnormalities.  Therefore, I would suggest that you keep in close touch with a pediatric neurologist.  This doesn't indicate that something is wrong with your child, only that the changes are present that something else may be abnormal.  You already know that the cerebellum is maldeveloped.

A good pediatric neurologist should be able to lead you on the correct path.  I am sorry that your child has this problem.  I hope I answered your questions.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD