Patient's question:
What to do if your brain is full of water? It just means there's a little water in your head.Doctor's answer:
Chronic hydrocephalus is primarily caused by the obstruction of the mesencephalic aqueduct, leading to the inability of cerebrospinal fluid to circulate, resulting in ventricular expansion and increased intracranial pressure. The traditional treatment for hydrocephalus is ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery, which involves connecting the ventricles to the peritoneal cavity using a silicone tube to allow the "accumulated fluid" to flow into the abdomen for absorption. Specifically, the procedure involves entering through a 4 cm incision on the outer ear canal on the right side, passing through a subcutaneous tunnel, and extending to the diaphragmatic surface of the liver, into the abdominal cavity. The intracranial tube is 5.5 cm long, while the abdominal tube is 10 cm long. The tube is equipped with a pressure valve that automatically opens when intracranial pressure reaches 7–12 cm of water column, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to be smoothly drained into the abdomen for absorption by the abdominal cavity. This provides some relief from hydrocephalus to a certain extent.