Large head circumference

[judetheobscure]

My 9 month old has just been referred to a consultant as his head circumference is off the centile chart. He's a big baby - weight 99th centile.
Large heads run in the family (!) so I'm not particularly bothered, especially as I don't think the GP measured him accurately (2.5 cms larger than I can make him!) but what will the consultant be looking for?

Jude

This is a subject I seem to have a lot of experience of! My oldest daughter had hydrocephalus (water on the brain) which causes large heads, so obviously she was affected (though she looks perfectly fine now), but my 3 other children also seem to have massive heads! They are all off the top centile, and are all completely fine. Turns out that dh and myself have quite large heads too (but I blame him more than me!) so it's just a family thing.

If his weight is on the 99th centile and his height is pretty good too, then he really isnt out of proportion, especially if large heads run in the family.

I would think the consultant would be taking a family history , measure your head too, and dh if he is present, as well as your son. He'll probably ask you lots of questions about his development, seeing if he has done things at the age appropriate time, check to see if his fontanelle is bulging or not. Based on his questions and physical assessment he will decide if he needs further examinations like ultrasound through his fontanelle to check the ventricles have no excess fluid in them,(ventricles are the spongy spaces in the brain that allows fluid to collect and drain away- a build up of fluid can cause the head to grow abnormally and put pressure on the brain, but is pretty rare so please don't panic!).

You will probably come out of the appointment reassured that everything is fine, and if you are not particularly worried then I would trust your instinct. At least if you go for the appointment you have an official ok that he is fine. Good luck

We had similar with ds - even at the 20-week scan his head was off the scale of hugeness, which really worried me for the rest of pregnancy, though everyone said not to worry. Now his head looks totally in proportion to the rest of him and you wouldn't really notice it was big unless you were thinking about it (it is bigger than his friends' when they're standing side by side and you look closely).

Extra brain space, I now think! :-)

I'm sure the consultant will be able to put your mind at rest, good luck.

My ds has always seemed to have a really large head (nickname has always been Spud due to his head!! - at four I was having to buy him adult hats as no kids ones would fit him - he is now 8 and his head is larger than mine. Dh has a large head so I have never been worried, I wouldn't worry, although these things are always worth checking out - at least they are doing that.

judetheobscure. My daughter also has hydrocephalus as mentioned by lou33.her head was increasing at a very fast rate due to a previous infection, one sure sign of this illness is a child haveing what the doctors call "sunset eyes" its where the childs eyes are low down in the socket rather like the child looking downwards this is because of the high pressure inside the head. Also she was extremly sleepy all the time, although her soft spot on her head was not bulgeing.Im sure if your chlld had this condtion there would be alot of other problems showing , as your child isnt a small child im sure this isnt the case. If the consultant is concerned he would probably do a ct or mri scan which would show if the ventricles are enlarged. If it was found to be hydrocephalus a operation can be done to insert a shunt ( a drainage tube) to allow the fluid to be drained from the ventricles.

My dd also has a slightly large head. Not off the centile charts but on a higher scale than her length and weight.

When I mentioned it to my health visitor, they referred me to my doctor who mentioned hydrocephalus (spelling?) which I knew something about as a friend's baby had it. They don't actually think anything is wrong but will check it out further at her 8 month check (next month).

The doctor also mentioned the eyes where you can white all round the iris - not just at the sides but top and bottom.

Because my dd eyes are "normal" he doens't think there is a problem but it is just something they will keep a check on.

Thanks for all the replies. Ds doesn't seem to have anything obvious with his eyes and developmentally he's very average. So, fingers crossed, the consultant will discharge him after one visit.

Hello.
Has anyone had a baby with hydrocephalus, who has had to have a shunt (drainage tube) inserted in their brain to allow the fluid to be drained from the ventricles?

My baby (7-month-old foetus) has been diagnoses with moderate-to-serious hydrocephalus and the doctors (who have been marvellous) want to operate on her in the weeks after she's born in May.
They say she'll "probably be OK" after the operation but there's no certainty.

I'm freaking out. Not only am I scared about the birth, in case she's seriously not OK at that point, but I'm also worried about how she'll cope with having neurosurgery when she's such a tiny infant.

And I'm worried that she won't really be OK after the operation and that I'll be permanently looking for signs of developmental problems or the onset of sunset eyes. I'm a single mother and live in France. All my family live in England though, so I'm feeling very isolated at the moment.

All advice, accounts of experience with hydrocephalus or just comforting noises welcome.

Gilliweed Hi, I realise this is an old thread but wondered how you got on and if you can give me advice/hope?

Just had my 20 week scan and the reckon my son has excess fluid on the brain.

Would appreciate your time x

Hi,

Just came across this thread and I guess this message is for gilliweed and PenfoldsGlasses. Our DS (2yrs 11mths) has what was termed moderate/serious hydrocephalus and treated at 10 days with a reservoir to reduce the excess pressure in his head before being shunted at 6 months. He is absolutely fine.

He is at nursery 2 days, running, talking, counting to 20, knows most letters, can name and even draw some shapes. He makes up stories, eats food that's bad for him and won't touch veg. He loves golf and cricket, stickers and jigsaws.

Because of his hydrocephalus and i guess the time it took to get over his ops and for the pressure in his head to settle he was always towards the later ages of average when he reached his developmental milestones. He walked at 2 & a bit talked in sentences from 2 & half. He has always had a wicked throwing arm and excellent upper body motor skills. Like all kids i guess he's better at some things than others. He's generally fab and we are lucky as i know that the range of ability of those with hydrocephalus varies. We found 'Hydrocephalus; A guide for patients, families and friends' by Toporek & Robinson helpful.

Whilst Joe is doing well I have to admit at times we've been fairly stressed out. Once a shunt is fitted there is the constant worry of it failing... Neurosurgery on your baby is not easy We try not to worry day to day & just enjoy him. Gilliweed - I hope you have some nice friends in France to support you. In Joe his Hydrocephalus isn't noticable so unless you have people around you who know I think the stresses you're under as a parent of a child with what is still a serious health issue can go unnoticed...

Hope all works out well for both of you x

My DS2 had a larger head circumference on centile chart compared to the rest of him and a very large fontanelle for a few months after birth, something that several health professionals (he was seeing for other matters) noticed. I was told that large head measurements aren't usually a problem in themself, but they would be concerned if the baby's head grew particularly quickly and out of proportion to the rest of his/her growth, which sounds, from other posts here, like a sign of hydrocephalus.

I think it is difficult when different people do the measurement and can come up with different numbers, as you say, but maybe take a look at how his earlier head measurements show on the centile chart? If they look similar then there shouldn't be a problem.