However, most forms do require to be treated, and this is usually done surgically. Drugs have been used for many years but they may have unpleasant side effects and are not always successful. The usual treatment is to insert a shunting device. It is important to note that this does not 'cure' the hydrocephalus and damage to the brain tissue remains. Shunting controls the pressure by draining excess CSF, so preventing the condition becoming worse.
Symptoms caused by raised pressure usually improve but other problems of brain damage can remain.
Increasingly an operation called Third Ventriculostomy is being performed in specialist units. A shunt is simply a drain which diverts the accumulated CSF from the obstructed pathways and returns it to the bloodstream. The device consists of a system of tubes with a valve to control the rate of drainage and prevent back-flow. The device is completely enclosed so that all of it is inside the body. The fluid which is drained into the abdomen passes from there into the bloodstream.