MY teenage son (17 y.o) with a lot of special needs just had his vp shunt replaced(original went in when he was 18 months old!) he had the operation on sunday lunchtime(wed lunchtime now).He got out of hospital yesterday lunchtime(tues) and has been home 1 day he seems quite sleepy and has had 2 1 hr spells in his bed today is this normal? the 1st one he slept the other just lay down chilling.He eating again but not his usual apettite,does he sound ok to anyone else whos had a vp shunt replaced??

CAn you please tell me the the VP shunt replacement operation is same as the original one(when shunt was placed first) ?

They can change all or just part of the system for a revision. It really depends on the situation, but generally they won't mess with something working and they can test various components during a revision to see if something is not working. For infections the whole system can be removed, infection treated (leaving lots of details out), new system put in. For blockages in the catheter draining fluid from the ventricle might just replace the catheter (one of the more common ways things can go wrong). We've had valve replaced two or three times, proximal catheter replaced once, and things added (nothing replaced that time, I think). Our child still has the original tubing that leads from the valve to the abdomen.

How is he doing? I generally worry most about infection in the first six weeks after a revision but something else could be weird. Did he get a new type of valve, change the setting, or some other difference in his system? Did you call the on call doc? My kid always has felt much better in the first few days after a revision (anything beats being deathly sick), later weird stuff like draining issues have kicked in. Glad you are documenting stuff, helps one see trends better (or push back on surgeons if need be).

Hello,
I Am 20 Years Old. I Have Had Two VP Shunts Put In At Birth. One Only A Few Inches Long And The Other Goes From The Side Of My Head Down Into My Stomach. I Have Been Having Severe Pain In My Stomach And Headaches. Went To A Neurosurgeon Two Days Ago And He Says That My Shunt Is Fractured Behind My Right Ear And There Is A Severe Amount Of Fluid Still On The Brain As The Shunt Is Fractured And Not Doing Its Job. He Says I Need To Replace My Shunt. I Know Nothing About This And I Was Wondering If I Should Be Concerned Or If This Is Just Standard.
Any Help Would Be Great. Thanks!!

-K

Hey Sleepless,
I also have a VP shunt and have needed 2 revisions, both in the last 12 months. Prior to that mine was initially placed 15 years ago and fractured. I had symptoms ie headaches, the feeling of sinus pressure for a while and I tried to ignore it. Thought I was getting the flu, but then had a violent vomiting session and the headache was very intense, chronic. Then I collapsed. Woke up in hospital. I was told the shunt had fractured. When I felt my neck, there was no tube. It had fractured and the distal end was/is in my abdomen. These tubes are made of a medical grade plastic. Overtime they naturally deteriorate and thus break. From all the information I have read shunts have an average life of 2years. So to get 20 years from your first shunt is very lucky. Like I say I got 15yrs from my first and I consider myself fortunate for that. My next shunt lasted 6 months and since then I've had nothing but trouble with the new shunt. I'm having real bad pain both abdominal and headaches. I used to curse the former shunt which in comparison I had minimal pain from compared to now. Your neuro will only operate if necessary. If he's telling you that you need it, then do it. A build up of fluid can be very dangerous, in fact intracranial hypertension can kill. They can do tests to see if you are a candidate for 'shunt independence' where it maybe possible to remove the tube, but if you are like me this won't be advisable and a new shunt or replacement component maybe required but again your neuro will be the best person to ask and get advice from.
Good luck with it all. It can be a very very stressing time, but in all honesty don't bother stressing, there is very little you can do about it. Its up to the dr's from here. Let them do their job.
Merl1n