Hi Matthew-

My son had some problems with his first vp shunt and needed a va shunt for a while (where it goes to the atria of the heart). He did well with it. The only problem is that every couple years the tubing has to be lengthed because they can't put extra in the heart. It is more efficient at pumping out the fluid, but the downside is multiple surgeries- not with the head, just the tube. At his last revision, we decided to give the belly another chance. So far so good. Some people just can't handle the tubing and extra fluid.