AR
UR
May 14, 2022: A four-year-old child was successfully treated for hydrocephalus, a disease in which the Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF) builds up in the cavities deep within the brain, at University Hospital Sharjah (UHS).
The girl, who was accompanied by her parents, had a history of Congenital Hydrocephalus and came in for a consultation with UHS surgeons. She not only had hydrocephaly, but she also had a Ventriculoperitoneal shunt inserted when she was six months old to drain the excess fluid. For the two weeks before to this session, the youngster had been complaining of abdominal pain, periodic vomiting, and abdominal distension.
The patient was stable, had no fever, and was fully conscious with appropriate developmental milestones when UHS officials arrived. A well positioned cardiac catheter and a big abdominal pseudocyst were discovered during clinical examinations.
Her abdominal pseudocyst collection was drained with ultrasound guidance. In a few days, she developed major abdominal distension and vomiting, necessitating surgical fenestration of the pseudocyst (fluid aspiration from the cyst) and repositioning of the peritoneal catheter.
Furthermore, the child's enlarged abdomen was still present during the first follow-up visit. Massive fluid retention was revealed by an ultrasonography. The surgeon found that the abdomen was not properly working or absorbing CSF and instructed the anaesthetic team to insert a Programmable Ventriculoatrial Shunt. Her status remained stable after the treatment, and she had a normal postoperative course.
"We are delighted to announce that UHS has successfully completed a challenging procedure for Congenital Hydrocephalus, leveraging our state-of-the-art technology, skilled professional advisers, and advanced operating theatres," stated Dr. Ali Obaid Al Ali, UHS CEO and Member of the Board of Trustees.
He added that they aspire to serve more patients from the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), so that they can benefit from the complete experience and standardised, high-quality services in order to live a healthy life.
Hydrocephaly affects a large number of children. A shunt system is the most common treatment for Congenital Hydrocephalus, in which a surgeon places a flexible plastic tube in the infant's brain to drain excess fluid, with the other end of the tube going under the skin and into the belly, or another location in the body where the excess CSF can be absorbed.
A three-year-old boy with a history of Congenital Hydrocephalus and COVID-19 positivity underwent VP shunt implantation at UHS at the age of six months in an identical scenario. Similarly, a nine-month-old male newborn who had been operated on more than six times in five months for Hydrocephalus and associated shunt infection received a shunt tapping treatment by the combined skills of many paediatric surgeons at UHS, using complete aseptic methods.