I had my shunt put in when I was 2 months old and had a small revision when I was about two.

In the past couple of months I started getting headaches that I thought were just stress. The headaches started increasing in intensity and frequency the past couple of weeks so I finally went to the hospital ER a week ago and they did a CT scan that showed mild hydrocephalus in two of my ventricles.

I went back last Friday morning while still waiting to get in to my family doctor for a referral as the headaches were crushing and causing blurred vision. The Dr. that night referred me to a neurosurgeon and I go tomorrow.

I am expecting a shunt revision is going to happen and though not scared, I am wondering what will happen.

Are you kept awake during this? Do they shave your head completely for this? I don't have much hair anyhow so that is not a worry!

I may get admitted tomorrow, I am going to the surgeons office but that does not mean he won't send me to hospital right away!

Any help is great!

hiya,
sorry to hear that =(
but blimey your shunt done well to last that long!!

if you do have surgery, you will be put to sleep no doubt about it!! so dont you worry!!

you may want to have you hair cut before you go in, because most hospitals wont shave your head completely, just like half of it which leaves you looking odd!!

Best of luck to you!!

Chances are if your vision is being affected, then you will be put as a priority. When I had vision issues, I was put into surgery the next day. But anyways, I'm a girl, so my experience with the shaving hair thing is a little different. The two neuros I had before the one I have now would shave a good bit of hair. Not my whole head, not even enough to notice unless the wind was blowing. But for a guy who has short hair, it would of been more difficult. My neuro is really good about shaving as little hair as possible. Now that doesn't mean after you see what hair they shaved you won't decide to just shave your head anyways, but it will be your decision.

Oh and you will definitely be out. They definitely knock you out for shunt revisions, no matter how minor. Hope everything works out great for ya! ~Melissa~

Thank you for the replies.

I went to the neurosurgeon yesterday and he didn't seem too concerned about anything. It was confusing though. He said in one breath that my shunt was still pumping and in the next breath, he said my shunt is not working at all.

Even with all of the symptoms I gave him, he did not really do anything. He wants me to have another CT scan in one month and than go see him again so he can compare the two.

My dad seems to think that he is being overly cautious about opening up my head and based on the info I have read on the internet, it seems they usually do not operate right away. They seem to monitor it first to see if it is the shunt or not (though my CT report said I had mild hydrocephalus that should not be there).

So I am left now to deal with the headaches and try to return to work. I can't be off another month, plus more time if he decides to operate after that. I am back on Tylenol 3's again and they seem to help, but don't kill the headache completely.

We shall see how it goes. If it gets worse, I will go back to ER right away and not take any chances.

This REALLY annoys me you know.

Neurosurgeons always contradict themselves!!
They are only ever happy to operate when things are too late, surely they can see the signs of when things are going wrong, someone cant go on in pain when things like work are involved!

Im fed up with mine!
nothing ever shows up on scans and xrays for me, whenever ive had shunt malfunction, my cts never have any difference as to when its working fine, ive had many complications and never once has something shown up on tests.

One doctor says something and plans something and another says different and turns plans down.

My education has been absolutely ruined, ive missed my first year at college, i must have about a 10% attendance. if that.
all due to ongoign headaches.

we KNOW when something shunt related is up, instincts are everything.

I saw a psychologist today, as my neurosurgeon wants to put my headaches down as migraines and not shunt related.
My psychologist ruled out migraine from her studies and so did the neurologist that saw me.
When i mentioned the instinct thng to the psychologist, she was very interested! But its so true, NSs dont like to listen to us, but 9 times out of 10 we are right when something is going wrong!

Ive had a neuroconsultant/surgeon registrar believe it was overdrainage for me. he planned on changing the valve in covnersion surgery, my neurosurgeon turned his plans down!

&& today my neurologist also believed its overdrainage.
He now has to report back to my neurosurgeon, i hope he starts putting two and two together instead of brushing things off!!

Hun, if you believe its your shunt form your gut, you make sure your adament with your NS, you need to make it clear your work is affected and you cant go on like it!

Good luck =)

WOW! Sounds like you have been through a lot!

Funny thing here, if you go to one doctor who says yeah let's do it, why go to a second one who than says NO? I don't know how things work down there, I am from Canada, I assume you are in the USA? I have my nsgn and that is it. He gets the last call.

Like I said, he has exactly ruled out surgery, he just mentioned the complications that can come of it. 5% to 10%... to me that is 90 to 95% that it does work!

I will see what happens in a month or so, provided it does not get worse. If it does I will go straight to the same hospital where he works out of instead of ours here.

Thanks for your story though and stay in touch!

Hiya,
im in the UK,

I too have my neurosurgeon and he has the last word, but never once when ive had a problerm arising has he suggested it was the shunt playing up, always quick to assume migraine, hense why he referred me to a neurologist and psychologist for their opinion, their answers came right back to the shunt! lol.

EXACTLY, the odds are in your favour, of course there are risks, but there are risks to everything that we do.
90-95%, would you spend your last pound/dollar/etc on a lottery ticket if that was your chances of winning a huge jackpot?
I know i would!!

The 5-10% chance of a complication is small, if a complication does arise, it can be fixed. Ild rather experience a complication from surgery than live with a malfunctioning shunt.

Please do keep us updated, and of course i hope the best decision gets made for you to make you as healthy as possible. =)
Take care =)

Jade,

Sorry I assumed that you were in the USA, I guess it really is the World Wide Web!

I went back to work last night and while I had a bit of a headache, the painkillers took care of it pretty much!

Not much I can do now but wait and hope it doesn't get any worse.

I agree, if I only had a 5-10% chance of losing in a lottery, I would buy a ticket for sure! *LOL*

But he does have the final word, so I have to put my faith in him for now!

I think he will end up operating after the next CT scan, provided that the hydrocephalus is still there, which I think it will be, can't see it going away!

You take care too!

I am 49, with a diagnosis of PseudoTumor Cerebri. I had a LP Shunt placed in July 2008, and revised twice in August 2008. The LP Shunt failed again, and April 13, 2009, a VP Shunt was placed. My recovery from this time around, so far, has been excellent. BUT, here is my problem. My Neurosurgeon is not the most informative guy. He does the surgery, then does not tell me anything afterwards, ie: What to look out for, special precautions, no-no’s, etc. I really want this one to stay in place, and continue to work good. All I can find is what I am finding online. HELP!!!! Is it true, no more roller-coasters? I need an antibiotic before dental procedures? The shunt breaks easily? Air pressure in planes can damage it? What else do I need to know? He said it is a shunt that is programmable by a magnet. Any time before that I have asked him a question, he says in his most thoughtful voice “Hmmmmmm”… “I have never heard of that before.” Then, I find people on the net who have experienced it. One example was, when I was first post-op, I could hear a whooshing, ticking sound with my heart beat. Then, a couple of days later I placed my hand on my dressing on my head and it made like a gurgling sound, and the ticking went away. When I had my LP Shunt put in, I told him I felt like I had some swelling in my stomach. He palpated it, and said he didn’t feel anything. The next day it started draining from the abdominal incision site. He acted like it was no big deal, but suggested we check it in the OR for placement. He still said he didn’t feel anything, but that the drainage was CSF. My satisfaction was that when he cut into me ( I know the OR Nurse) it gushed out all over him, and the OR. Maybe he will listen better in the future. Sorry for rambling on. Any advice those of you with a VP Shunt can pass along to me would be tremendously appreciated!!!

Just an update,

My neurosurgeon called today and he had received the CT scan from 2002 that showed no hydrocephalus and decided he will operate on Friday! YEAH!