Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of para- and intra-ventricular cystic lesions.

Different cystic lesions can be located in or around the ventricular system, eventually causing hydrocephalus. Twenty-one patients are described where endoscopic intervention, mainly large fenestration towards the ventricular cavity, has been performed. This treatment can sometimes replace open surgery or extracranial shunting. Most rewarding are the arachnoid and ependymal intra- and paraventricular cysts. With careful and adequate endoscopic technique this procedure is safe and much less invasive than other methods described.