I have had my shunt and tubing in for over 30 years and last summer out of the blue I had to have major surgury on the tubing. I had my shunt put in in november or 1979 and had a few revisions on it as a child in the 1980s. I went thru my teenage years and my twenties with no issues. I felt sick one day last june and just thought i was dehydrated. After an afternoon of being miserable I went to the er and they did some testing. As it turned out my tube had broke in my stomach and was making me feel sick all day. So I would say that it is definately possible for it to happen. good luck