Anybody know the prognosis for hydrocephalus in an elderly female?

Question

Situation:
About three weeks ago my mother (who was in an extended-care facility) began showing signs of dementia and stopped eating.

She was placed in the facility because of degenerative disk disease.

On Friday she was taken to the hospital via ambulance due to her mental state (she no longer comprehends anything we say)and extreme weakness.

An MRI was performed on Monday and the neruologist diagnosed hydrocephalus. He stated that:

Without surgery she would only live a couple of months.
The existing brain damage is likely perminant
Due to her physical shape the surgery will be extremely risky
With or without the surgery she will likely have to have a feeding tube

Researching the condition on the Internet I noticed that the web-sites geared towards laymen tend to be more upmbeat but the references geared towards doctors indicate that the prognosis is grim.

Does anybody know what the 'real world' success rate for theis surgery is?

They did a spinal tap today. She is still only eating if we force the food into her but recognised me and said my name. I'm taking tomorrow off so I can go to the hospital and talk to the doctors myself.

Thanks for the links.

Answer 1

Well, just in case there aren't any neurosurgeons or neurologists here on Yahoo...I thought I would try to answer your question. The two sources below are more geared toward doctors, and they do have a lot of information about figuring out how someone will do with surgery. It seems that the most important factor is the underlying cause. I suspect that the neurologist's comments are based on not just the diagnosis, but also on the severity, the duration, and her other medical problems. You could ask the neurologist for more details, or you could ask for a second opinion. You might also look into hospice, as that could be an option if you choose not to proceed with surgery.

It sounds like a very difficult decision, and even if you learn all the statistics, it is still very hard to know how a specific person will do. Other things to consider would be her quality of life before this happened, and, of course, her own wishes. Good luck, and I hope everything works out for the best.

Answer 2

I have my mother here right now dying. She had a stroke on 8/7 and in December began suffering seizures. Cat scan revealed Hydrocephalus. Because of a pacemaker we couldn t get a MRI done. Advice from the neuro surgeon was, because of her age ..82..because she had dementia...and congestive heart disease..it would be foolish to submit her into surgery.
I listened.
Today 2/14 my mother is almost dead. She suffered seizures from 2/2 to today...did not eat, or drink after 2/2. We gave her fluids via sponge. Right now green junk is flowing from her mouth. She suffered for 12 days so far and still didn t die. Other than the hydrocephalus, her body was strong and in good health and fighting death.
In hindsight. I should have put her through the surgery. Although would be high risk, if she had made it thru the surgery, she would still be here with me saying things that make no real sense (dementia) watching TV and having a semi-ok rest of her life. My decision was wrong. The suffering she experienced the past two weeks because of the hydrocephalus killing her was unbearable to watch, the seizures, her body sucking every drop of fluid to keep her heart beating, the refusal of fluids given in the mouth, and now this crap dripping out of her mouth was just horrible. If I had the surgery we d be watching tv right now together. Instead, my decision killed her untimely.