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Surgical treatments

Treatment is directed at lowering the intracranial pressure.

Surgery is recommended when vision is getting worse from high pressure despite aggressive treatment with medications. Because surgery has small but potentially dangerous risks, it is not recommended when your vision is good.

 

The goal of surgery is to release pressure around the optic nerves.

 

There are three main types:

  1. Shunt surgery: a neurosurgeon places one end of a flexible tube into one of the normal fluid-filled spaces in your brain (ventricle) or into your spine (lumbar) and the other end into another part of your body, such as your abdomen (peritoneum).

  2. Venous stenting: A neurovascular surgeon inserts a device that holds open a vein that drains blood from the brain. It is a newer technique for lowering brain pressure; hence, specialists are still considering where this approach fits into the management.

  3. Optic nerve sheath fenestration: an orbital or neuro-ophthalmic surgeon creates a small window in the lining (sheath) around your optic nerve to allow the fluid to drain behind your eye.

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