ABSTRACT
It is not until the sixteenth century that we have the first references to the condition that we would recognize as hydrocephalus (Versalius, 1514-1564). Robert Wytt’s essay on dropsy of the ventricles of the brain (1768) provides a clear clinical description of the condition. The surgical treatment of hydrocephalus has included ventricular puncture, extirpation of the choroid plexus, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion to a variety of body cavities. Drainage of the CSF to the jugular vein via a simple valve housed in rubber tubing was described by Nulsen and Spitz in 1952 and was a major landmark in hydrocephalus treatment, but it was the introduction of valved tubing made from durable, biocompatible material (Silastic®) that heralded the modern era of shunt technology and hydrocephalus treatment. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy entails perforating the floor of the third ventricle via an endoscope introduced via the lateral ventricle and is now an established technique in the neurosurgical treatment of hydrocephalus.
