Is the success rate of endoscopic third ventriculostomy age-dependent? An analysis of the results of endoscopic third ventriculostomy in young children

Introduction: Different opinions exist in the literature about the effectiveness of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in the treatment of hydrocephalus in young children. Therefore we made a retrospective evaluation of our own success rates of performing ETVs in children less than 2 years of age. Materials and methods: In a series of 275 ETVs 66 procedures were performed in children less than 2 years of age. Results: The overall success rate in this young age group was 53%, lower than the success rates of ETVs reported in literature (72-92%). But further analysis of these results and a comparison of the results in subgroups with different etiologies of the hydrocephalus showed that the success rates varied between 20 and 88%. Conclusion: We conclude that the success of ETV depends mainly on the etiology of the hydrocephalus and not on the age of the patient alone.