Hydrocephalus is caused by an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain’s ventricles, arising from excess fluid production, blocked circulation, or impaired absorption. It can be congenital, present from birth due to structural malformations, or acquired later through infection, bleeding, tumours or head trauma. Symptoms depend heavily on age at onset, since an infant’s skull can still expand under pressure while an adult’s cannot, and that single difference shapes almost everything about how the condition presents.
According to Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney, a leading neurosurgeon in mumbai, “Families often mistake an older adult’s unsteady walk or memory lapse for ordinary ageing, when it’s sometimes a fluid problem that surgery can genuinely reverse.”
Noticed sudden head growth in a baby or new walking trouble in an older adult?
What Causes Hydrocephalus To Develop?
No single cause explains every case, and in a meaningful share of adult-onset hydrocephalus no clear trigger is ever found at all. When surgery becomes necessary, options range from shunt placement to more targeted brain surgery approaches depending on where the blockage sits.
What Symptoms Should Raise Concern?
Presentation splits sharply by age group, and recognising the right pattern speeds up diagnosis considerably.
Infants: A rapidly enlarging head circumference, a bulging soft spot, and persistent vomiting or irritability are the classic warning signs paediatricians look for at routine checkups.
Headaches: Morning headaches that ease through the day, along with blurred or double vision, often point to raised pressure inside the skull rather than a routine tension headache.
Gait: Difficulty initiating the first step, followed by a shuffling, magnetic walk, is a hallmark of normal pressure hydrocephalus in older adults, and it frequently improves once fluid pressure is relieved through functional neurosurgery techniques like shunt placement.
Bladder: Urinary urgency or incontinence often appears alongside gait changes and mild memory decline, forming a triad that’s easy to miss because each symptom looks unrelated on its own.
Because early symptoms mimic several other neurological conditions, timely imaging remains the deciding factor in getting the diagnosis right. For more on how surgical outcomes play out in adults, see surgery for normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Why Choose Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney?
Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney has over 18 years of overall surgical experience and specialised training in Neuroendoscopy, giving him direct expertise in both shunt placement and endoscopic third ventriculostomy for hydrocephalus across infants, children and adults.
Patients treated for normal pressure hydrocephalus under his care have reported measurable improvement in gait and bladder control within weeks of shunt surgery, changes families often describe as getting a parent back rather than just managing symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can hydrocephalus be cured completely?
There’s no cure, but surgery controls fluid pressure effectively in most patients.
Is hydrocephalus only a condition seen in babies?
No, it also develops in adults, most commonly as normal pressure hydrocephalus.
How is hydrocephalus diagnosed?
Through CT or MRI imaging, sometimes combined with a spinal tap.
Can a shunt fail after years of working normally?
Yes, shunts can block, break or infect and need urgent evaluation.
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