Whereas at first it was almost exclusively performed in patients with noncommunicating obstructive hydrocephalus (e.g. aqueductal stenosis or intracerebral tumor), in the present day patients with communicating obstructive hydrocephalus (e.g. post intracranial hemorrhage or post intracranial infection) also may be eligible for treatment by means of ETV.
[citation needed] A major advantage of performing an endoscopic third ventriculostomy over placement of a cerebrospinal fluid shunt is the absence of an implanted foreign body.
Complications of ETV include hemorrhage (the most severe being due to basilar artery rupture), injury to neural structures (e.g. hypothalamus, pituitary gland or fornix of the brain), and late sudden deterioration.
When it is not possible to perform an ETV for different reasons, an alternative treatment is opening the lamina terminalis anterior to the third ventricle.
[7] The surgical treatment options for hydrocephalus are, as previously mentioned, implantation of a cerebral shunt and ETV.
Patients under the age of two, diagnosed with aqueductal stenosis without a history of preterm birth or other associated brain anomalies are being included (International Infant Hydrocephalus Study).
[13] The degree of choroid plexus cauterization in infants might be dependent on the experience of the neurosurgeon (learning curve) and thus surgeons training might improve results.
[20][21] In most countries and neurosurgical centres, the ETV procedure is part of the basic neurosurgery training program.