Currently, a lot of children born with any pathology are born. One of the most difficult and serious complications is Dandy Walker syndrome.
The main causes of the appearance of congenital pathology are as follows:
- Most experts say that it is a hereditary disease that is genetically determined. This is confirmed by the statistics available in medical science.
- Anomaly of the Dandy Walker fetus most often occurs in those mothers who suffer from chronic alcoholism. Moreover, even other concomitant genetic abnormalities in the child may be absent. In addition to the fact that the body of a drinking woman is not a favorable environment for the development of the fetus, such a contingent often refers very irresponsibly to bearing. Therefore, Dandy Walker syndrome in a child is most often detected only after his birth.
- Hereditary diabetes, rubella, cytomegalovirus infection in a pregnant woman are also risk factors for the development of this anomaly.
Dandy Walker syndrome can be identified by the following symptoms .
The first signs can be detected in twenty-two weeks. On an ultrasound scan, there are already pathognomonic, typical signs, which include:
- the presence of a cyst in the area of the cranial fossa (area of the large cistern)
- cerebellar worm aplasia or hypoplasia;
- the fourth ventricle of the brain is dilated.
Over a longer period of pregnancy, the following symptoms become apparent and visible:
- "cleft palate" ;
- cleft lip;
- congenital malformations of the kidneys;
- syndactyly - fusion of fingers on the extremities.
Dandy Walker syndrome begins to manifest quickly after the birth of a child. This is especially true for severe neurological symptoms, its severity is variable. Very quickly signs of both intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus appear.
A child with such a pathology is very restless, lags behind in development, both physically and neuropsychiatrically. Cerebellar symptoms are also formed - impaired coordination, spastic muscle conditions and ataxia.
Dandy Walker Syndrome. Treatment and diagnosis
The antenatal diagnosis - “fetus with Dandy Walker syndrome” - poses a very serious dilemma for the father and mother. A decision must be made - to save the fetus and give birth with a 100% probability of a sick child, or to terminate the pregnancy. As a rule, doctors recommend the second option.
Despite this, children with this form of pathology are constantly born. The treatment in this case is very difficult and usually useless.
But with an incomplete form of pathology and hydrocephalus, surgical intervention is used. Bypass surgery of the lateral ventricle and cysts is not able to eliminate brain damage. The child will grow up as a neuropsychiatric disabled person with severe physical complications, a number of concomitant diseases and mental disability.
The prognosis of the development of children with such an anomaly
The prognosis of children with fixed Dandy Walker syndrome is very poor. As a rule, cerebral decompensation gradually increases. In the event that there is a severe form of the disease and there is no full clinical observation, then such a patient dies in the first six months of life. According to statistics, this is fifty percent.
The rest of the children, even with the serious work of doctors and parents, will be very much behind in their development, since their level of intelligence is very low (without the ability to restore it in the future). In addition, there is a pronounced functional neurological status.