Ventricles in head are slightly enlarged

[ambtay79]

hi, our doctor did an MRI on my son because his head was a little bigger than normal, the MRI shows the ventricles are slightly enlarged but the fluid is flowing thur fine. I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this before or is aware of this. If so has your child had to have a shunt put in?? He dont have water on the brain they said. Thanks

[wait and see]

hi there my son had a MRI done as the Dr said that his head was bigger than she would of like it to be he never had water on the brain but they didn't mention his ventricle but hey did check him for a year and a half he had a total of 3 mri and two cat-scans and everything is ok hes now 3 and doing just fine his heads still on the larger side of the growth chart his body has finally grown in to it my dr says thats just the way he is . i will keep you and your little guy in my prayer that all will be ok i wish you well pls keep me posted on what the dr says best of luck and all will be ok  

[mum2beagain]

Now my son does have water on the brain, his ventricles were enlarged as a baby, the fluid wasn't draining properly, it was increasing in pressure and the ventricles were getting bigger so he had to have a shunt. Now with your son it is possible that he just has large ventricles and that was just the way he was meant to be, provided the fluid is flowing properly and the pressure of this fluid isn't getting any higher and the ventricles don't enlarge further I don't see that there would be any need for a shunt. Try this site for more information on Hydrocephalus (the medical name for water on the brain).  

www.asbah.org/

Best wishes.

[nalla]

My son was born with hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and had a shunt put in when he was 3 weeks old.(he was born with Spina bifida also, the two kinda go together)  When he was first born they were not sure if he was going to need a shunt or not. So there are some cases where they won't need a shunt. It just depends on how large the ventricles are and if they keep growing.
Have you seen a neurologist yet? Your son needs to see one. The neuro needs to look at the scans. They are the only ones that can say for sure if he will need a shunt or not. With my son, he has had his shunt malfunction several times and our peds Dr. won't comment on what the next step is, they always send us right to the neuro.
How old is your son?
I know how scary this is! Especially if you just found out. We knew this about our son when I was about 4 months pregnant, so we had time to let it sink in.
Feel free to email me if you want to talk. It really helps to talk with others that understand. ***@****
Please keep us updated with how he is doing.

[carmapic]

im going through somting similer expect im 24 weeks pregnant and the left ventricle is mesuring between10.00 and 11.00. i found this out when i was 20 weeks along. i went in for a second ultrasound and they said that the ventricle hasent grown. they are sending back in 4 weeks to check it again. all the amniocentisis tests came back negitve. so no down syndrome or anything like that. the doctor said he is hopefull for the outcome. i wil lmessage and let everyone know what happens i hope my messages willhelp.

[beth18]

Hi,
Hope you dont mind me getting intouch.

I am 22 weeks pregnant and on my 20 week scan one of the ventricles was 12mm, I was refered to a more advanced hospital and they measured it at 11mm i have got to go back in 4 weeks for further scan they said it was prob nothing and thought it would prob stay same or get smaller. They said everything else was normal so i didnt have an amnio.  Did you get the choice of an amnio and how did your scan go after the 4 weeks?
Did they tell you what it could mean when the venticle is enlarged as i now feel that i didnt ask enough questions and it is such a worry for the next 4 weeks.
Look forward to hearing from you.

[Tiffany34]

Hi, at 20 weeks pregnant enlarged lateral ventricles were discovered measuring 10.5mm on my anomaly scan.  I was rescanned 6 days later and the lateral ventricle measured 10.3mm.  An emergency appointment with a fetal medicine specialist was arranged and 3 days following the 2nd scan the ventricular measurement was 9.6mm and deemed to be within normal range.  
      The consultant discussed the findings and assured me that the long term prognosis was good,although there is a slightly increased risk of delayed development, intra-uterine growth retartdation and possibly downs syndrome. However  all other fetal markers remain normal and the baby is developing normally thus far.  I have a follow up appointment with fetal medicine at 28 weeks to check all is well.
      It is a very worrying time for all going through similar experiences, I hope this information is helpful, and good luck to all.