E-Paper
‘Lack of awareness delays hydrocephalus treatment in children’
“Majority cases of hydrocephalus that have global prevalence of up to 80 cases per one lakh live birth, come late to us.”
Lack of awareness is causing delays in the treatment of children with hydrocephalus, a condition characterised by fluid accumulation in the head, resulting in an increased head size, unwarranted pressure on the brain, and even a change in the shape of the skull, according to Prof JD Rawat, head of the paediatric surgery department at King George’s Medical University.
“Majority cases of hydrocephalus that have global prevalence of up to 80 cases per one lakh live birth, come late to us. This is because parents are not aware, neither doctors identify such cases at early stage in periphery districts,” said Prof Rawat on Saturday.
If ignored for long, hydrocephalus can cause memory impairment, vision loss, and even paralysis. Also, the shape of the head remains changed. “In the early-stage head shape gets almost normal. But just as a balloon can return back to its shape if it is inflated a lot, similarly head will not get back its shape back. In hydrocephalus, we can understand excess liquid gets filled around the brain,” added Prof Rawat.
