Hydrocephalus

Treatment

Mayo Clinic doctors trained in brain and nervous system conditions (neurologists), brain and nervous system surgery (neurosurgeons) and other specialties treat hydrocephalus.

Your hydrocephalus treatment may include:

• Shunt placement. In this procedure, your surgeon inserts a flexible tube (shunt) in your brain. The shunt drains excess fluid from your brain and channels it to another part of your body — most commonly the abdomen — where the fluid can be absorbed.
• Endoscopic third ventriculostomy. In this procedure, your surgeon makes a small hole in the bottom of the brain's third ventricle (a space in your brain) to allow excess fluid to flow to the surface of your brain, where the fluid is absorbed. Surgeons conduct this procedure using a small lighted instrument with a camera attached (neuroendoscope) to view your brain during surgery.

Read more about hydrocephalus treatment.