Neuroendoscopic lavage for intraventricular hemorrhage in a preterm neonate: a case report

Abstract

Intraventricular hemorrhage is a common bleeding complication among preterm infants; however, there is still no treatment of choice. We present the case of a 31-week-old preterm newborn male patient with a history of
bilateral pneumothorax who was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at 12 days of age with subsequent etiological confirmation of grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage by cerebral ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging.
It was decided to treat post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus surgically by means of neuroendoscopic lavage with 
ventriculocisternostomy of the third ventricle and choroid plexus coagulation. The patient did not present the need for subsequent interventions or postoperative complications. Neuroendoscopy has emerged as a new technique for the definitive treatment of intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants; however, it has not yet been standardized. The present case reports the successful treatment of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus in a premature neonate by
means of neuroendoscopic lavage.