Third ventriculostomy in a single pediatric surgical unit

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is a successful method of treatment for obstructive hydrocephalus that has become popular over the last 20 years. The purpose of this paper is to study the outcome of infants with obstructive hydrocephalus treated by ETV by a single surgeon and to evaluate the safety, reliability, and efficacy of this treatment. All data were collected retrospectively. Between July 1999 and June 2005, 14 children underwent an ETV. In one child, a second ETV was performed. The age of the eight female and six male patients at the time of ETV ranged from less than 1 month up to 13 years and 11 months. The indication for an ETV was an obstructive hydrocephalus. Median follow-up period was 5 years and 9 months. The need of a further operation after ETV was defined as a failure of ETV. In six patients, the first ETV was successful. In the remaining eight patients, there was a need for further treatment (ventriculoperitoneal shunt). Although the follow-up shunt failed in one patient, he was successfully treated by a second ETV. Our study suggests that ETV can be successfully done in a small pediatric unit, but with a lower success rate because of small caseload, and therefore, lower experience and routine of the surgeon. Therefore, we propose a centralization of patients to obtain a higher number of cases. We confirm that ETV is a safe, reliable, and efficient method with a better outcome in children than infants.