title: LOVA: the role of endoscopic third ventriculostomy and a new proposal for diagnostic criteria.
abstract: The diagnostic criteria and management of this condition continue to be a topic of debate in the literature. The term definitive symptomatic LOVA (longstanding overt ventriculomegaly in adults) is applied to patients that fulfil a series of diagnostic criteria,which are reviewed in our paper. The main subject of our study is to propose a rearrangement of the criteria for the diagnosis of this entity and adjusted treatment strategies. We present our data evaluating the role of endoscopy in this pathology. This descriptive and analytical study comprised 27 adult patients with LOVA who underwent endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV). Data regarding age, gender and onset of symptoms, a previously implanted shunt, clinical examination and radiological findings at the time of diagnosis, and the intracranial pressure (ICP) recordings in some cases, were carefully retrospectively reviewed. ETV success was determined based on clinical state and radiological criteria. ETV was performed in all 27 cases. Mean follow up period was 4.2 years (6 months to 8 years). 2/27 patients (7.40%) were lost to follow-up. The overall success rate for ETV was 76% (21/25 patients). ETV resulted in shunt independency in two of the three patients with a previous shunt. Based on our results, we believe that ETV must be considered as the treatment of choice for patients with symptomatic LOVA.
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Regional University Hospital, Carlos Haya Avenue, 29010, Málaga, Spain. gibanezb@telefonica.net.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0617-3995
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ibáñez-Botella
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Regional University Hospital, Carlos Haya Avenue, 29010, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: González-García
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Regional University Hospital, Carlos Haya Avenue, 29010, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrasco-Brenes
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Regional University Hospital, Carlos Haya Avenue, 29010, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Bienvenido
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ros-López
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Regional University Hospital, Carlos Haya Avenue, 29010, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Arráez-Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014696:Ventriculostomy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy; Hydrocephalus; LOVA; Longstanding overt ventriculomegaly in adults; Neuroendoscopy