My 16 year old daughter had surgery to remove an epileptic focus in july 2009. This was complicated by an infected flap, a 7 week stay in hospital and the removal of the bone flap. She went home wearing a helmet for protection until a cranioplasty with an acrylic plate could be performed, but meanwhile she was involved in a car accident and sustained severe head injuries. This resulted in coma, hemiparesis etc. She made a good recovery though, and 7 months on was readmitted for a cranioplasty. Unfortunately, she developed a CSF leak, which formed a collection of fluid on top of her head. She then had a procedure which included a lumbar drain to try to decrease the csf pressure to give the dura a chance to heal. This did not work either, and the collection of CSf on her head continued to enlarge, so last week she had a shunt inserted. All is going well so far. I found this site and have been very interested in reading peoples experiences with shunts. Most have been for hydrocephaly, and I am wondering if anyone has had a shunt inserted for reasons like ours?