Endoscopic third ventriculostomy and choroid plexus cauterization case series

All patients who underwent an endoscopic third ventriculostomy at the Department of Neurosurgery at Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Medical Center between April 2013 and March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.

In total, 36 patients received an ETV. Six patients experienced endoscopic third ventriculostomy failure; three of these underwent a repeat ETV combined with choroid plexus cauterization. Three of the six patients who experienced early ETV failure received a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. During the median follow-up period of 42 months (range: 32-73 months), all repeat ETVs were successful.

A repeat endoscopic third ventriculostomy and choroid plexus cauterization can be an effective salvage surgery in the event of Endoscopic third ventriculostomy failure ¹⁾.

It is not clear to what degree these metrics should be expected to change after ETV/CPC. Using these clinical metrics, Dewan et al., present and analyze the decision-making in cases of ETV/CPC failure

Infantile hydrocephalus metrics, including bulging fontanel, head circumference z-score, and frontal and occipital horn ratio (FOHR), were compared between ETV/CPC failures and successes. Treatment outcome predictive values of metrics individually and in combination were calculated.

Forty-four patients (57% males, median age 1.2 months) underwent ETV/CPC for hydrocephalus; of these patients, 25 (57%) experienced failure at a median time of 51 days postoperatively. Patients experiencing failure were younger than those experiencing successful treatment (0.8 vs 3.9 months, p = 0.01). During outpatient follow-up, bulging anterior fontanel, progressive macrocephaly, and enlarging ventricles each demonstrated a positive predictive value (PPV) of no less than 71%, but a bulging anterior fontanel remained the most predictive indicator of ETV/CPC failure, with a PPV of 100%, negative predictive value of 73%, and sensitivity of 72%. The highest PPVs and specificities existed when the clinical metrics were present in combination, although sensitivities decreased expectedly. Only 48% of failures were diagnosed on the basis all 3 hydrocephalus metrics, while only 37% of successes were negative for all 3 metrics. In the remaining 57% of patients, a diagnosis of success or failure was made in the presence of discordant data.

Successful ETV/CPC for infantile hydrocephalus was evaluated in relation to fontanel status, head growth, and change in ventricular size. In most patients, a designation of failure or success was made in the setting of discordant data ²⁾.

A study retrospectively reviewed medical records of 27 premature infants with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and hydrocephalus treated with ETV and CPC from 2008 to 2011. All patients were evaluated using MRI before the procedure to verify the anatomical feasibility of ETV/CPC. Endoscopic treatment included third ventriculostomy, septostomy, and bilateral CPC. After ETV/CPC, all patients underwent follow-up for a period of 6-40 months (mean 16.2 months). The procedure was considered a failure if the patient subsequently required a shunt. The following factors were analyzed to determine a relationship to patient outcomes: gestational age at birth, corrected age and weight at surgery, timing of surgery after birth, grade of IVH, the status of the prepontine cistern and cerebral aqueduct on MRI, need for a ventricular access device prior to the endoscopic procedure, and scarring of the prepontine cistern noted at surgery.

Seventeen (63%) of 27 patients required a shunt after ETV/CPC, and 10 patients did not require further CSF diversion. Several factors studied were associated with a higher rate of ETV/CPC failure: Grade IV hemorrhage, weight 3 kg or less and age younger than 3 months at the time of surgery, need for reservoir placement, and presence of a normal cerebral aqueduct. Two factors were found to be statistically significant: the patient's corrected gestational age of less than 0 weeks at surgery and a narrow prepontine cistern on MRI. The majority (83%) of ETV/CPC failures occurred in the first 3 months after the procedure. None of the patients had a complication directly related to the procedure.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy/CPC is a safe initial procedure for hydrocephalus in premature infants with IVH and hydrocephalus, obviating the need for a shunt in selected patients. Even though the success rate is low (37%), the lower rate of complications in comparison with shunt treatment may justify this procedure in the initial management of hydrocephalus. As several of the studied factors have shown influence on the outcome, patient selection based on these observations might increase the success rate ³⁾.

A total of 710 children underwent ventriculoscopy as candidates for ETV as the primary treatment for hydrocephalus. The ETV was accomplished in 550 children: 266 underwent a combined ETV-CPC procedure and 284 underwent ETV alone. The mean and median ages were 14 and 5 months, respectively, and 443 patients (81%) were younger than 1 year of age. The hydrocephalus was postinfectious (PIH) in 320 patients (58%), nonpostinfectious (NPIH) in 152 (28%), posthemorrhagic in five (1%), and associated with myelomeningocele in 73 (13%). The mean follow up was 19 months for ETV and 9.2 months for ETV-CPC. Overall, the success rate of ETV-CPC (66%) was superior to that of ETV alone (47%) among infants younger than 1 year of age (p < 0.0001). The ETV-CPC combined procedure was superior in patients with a myelomeningocele (76% compared with 35% success, p = 0.0045) and those with NPIH (70% compared with 38% success, p = 0.0025). Although the difference was not significant for PIH (62% compared with 52% success, p = 0.1607), a benefit was not ruled out (power = 0.3). For patients at least 1 year of age, there was no difference between the two procedures (80% success for each, p = 1.0000). The overall surgical mortality rate was 1.3%, and the infection rate was less than 1%.

The ETV-CPC was more successful than ETV alone in infants younger than 1 year of age. In developing countries in which a dependence on shunts is dangerous, ETV-CPC may be the best option for treating hydrocephalus in infants, particularly for those with NPIH and myelomeningocele ⁴⁾.