Third ventriculostomy vs ventriculoperitoneal shunt in pediatric obstructive hydrocephalus: results from a Swiss series and literature review.
BACKGROUND
Few series compare endoscopic third ventriculostomies (ETV) and ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS). To avoid the complications after a shunt insertion, there is an increased tendency to perform a third ventriculostomy. We reviewed all pediatric patients operated in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for a newly diagnosed obstructive hydrocephalus since 1992 and compared the outcome of patients who benefited from ETV to the outcome of patients who benefited from VPS. There were 24 ETV and 31 VPS.


CONCLUSIONS
At 5 years of follow-up, the failure rate of ETV was 26%, as compared to 42% for the VPS group. This trend is also found in the pediatric series published since 1990 (27 peer-reviewed articles analyzed).


CONCLUSIONS
In accordance to this trend, although a statistical difference cannot be assessed, we believe that ETV should be the procedure of choice in pediatric obstructive hydrocephalus.
de Ribaupierre
Sandrine
S
Department of Neurosurgery, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland. s_derib@hotmail.com
Rilliet
B
B
Vernet
O
O
Regli
L
L
Villemure
J-G
JG
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013557:Switzerland; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000601:surgery; D017211:Treatment Failure; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects; D014696:Ventriculostomy / Q000009:adverse effects