IN A PREVIOUS report1 the guarded conclusion was reached that valve-regulated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversionary procedures,2,3 specifically ventriculovenous shunting, were of value in the treatment of infantile hydrocephalus. Follow-up in that group1 of 50 consecutive patients ranged from six months to four years. Of the 50 patients, 12 had died, 25 were doing well, and 13 were doing poorly. Of 12 patients in whom shunts had been removed and not reinserted, six had died and six were doing poorly. Revisions had been necessary 25 times in 13 patients of whom four died. These patients were initially shunted between 3 weeks and 36 months of age. We have followed this group in our clinics for three years since that time and are reporting the longer course in this communication. Included is an assessment of intellectual function in 19 survivors.
The follow-up of the patients in this series