Shunt Inquiries
 

Hi all, this is my first post here and nice to meet you all.
I have a son who is 1.5 years old and he did his 1st shunt surgery when he was 3 months old because of an arachnoid cyst.
Up until now everything is alright but today he felt down on his back when he was sitting down on the floor and my question is that is it dangerous that when he hit his back part of his head, will it affect the shunt or may it broke the shunt?
Thank you very much

hi,
i too have an arachnoid cyst and have a vp shunt fitted due to this, ive had 3 fitted since i was 14 months old.
during those 17 years i have smacked and banged my head on numerous occassions, even played football and headed the ball at oncoming power, i havent had any problems with the shunt after banging my head that im aware of as they are very strong =]
of course this is just reassurance...but if there are any of the symptoms of shunt malfunctions...like irritability, headaches, convulsions,sickness the size of the head growing or the baby not seeming like himself then please get him checked out because of course these shunts are invincible afterall.
i hope everythings and well
take care x

I know this is a little late and you probably already have your answer but I wanted to put my 2 cents in. I had a shunt placed at 3 months old due to a cyst at the base of my brain that was causing hydrocephalus. I had it revised at 7 months and after that didn't have a problem til I was almost 17. Through out all that I was a typical kid and a total tom boy. I played softball, was a base in cheerleading(and I'll fight anyone who thinks having flying bodies coming down at you doesn't mean cheerleading is a sport!), I rode rollercoasters and bumper cars, climbed(and fell out of) trees, played full contact basketball and happened to nail my head numerous times and it was never an issue. Ironically we think(my parents and I) it ended up being cheerleading that finally did my shunt in and that was only cause the flyer sucked and I was constantly(5 to 6 times a day) getting hit in the head with a 115lb girl. Probably not the smartest thing I ever did looking back so not that I really recommend it, but basically they are meant to be tough and withstand a lot so I wouldn't really worry about a fall.

The fall and a shunt
 

Reply to a fall:
Im not a doctor but i too have a shunt. Shunts are made of plastic and yes can withstand a lot of what lifes every day activites throw at us. Some falls will cause the shunt to shatter.
Watch for dialation of the pupals , I may not have spelt that correctly.
Generally the shunt is tough.
I fell on ice when i was 12 shattering my shunt immediatly i felt dizzy , sick to stomach and soon began to projectile vomit , ( something out of a movie) no it was real .
Shunts that are put into infants as i was will need revisions as mine did .
Persons with shunts are not barbie dolls who need exta care , persons with shunts are like everyone else.
There is safty issues that un shunted peple as well as persons with shunts face.
Live a normal life be happy :)

Don't worry
 

You will be fine. My son has had a shunt since 5 years old, and is now 10. He has fallen, hit his head directly on the shunt, and all is well....
God bless!:)

shunt testing
 

Hi all, I know this is an old thread, but it's the only relevant thing I could find on the internet. When pressing in a shunt, (I've had mine since I was 9 weeks old, now 34 and had a replacement last year), should you be able to press it in all the way, or could it be a bit stiff?

my old one I was able to press in all the way, but the one I just had placed (was a delta, now a strata), when I press it it barely goes in and bounces back right away. So I think it just depends on the shunt. I have heard though that it can correlate with a non-functioning shunt if the reservoir deflates and is very slow to reinflate. Hope that's helpful.

shouldnt worry
 

I have had my shunt since I was 2 months old I am now 32 ....I know as a child I used to play with the bubble as I called it. And from what my docs told me as a rule of thumb as long as the bubble popped back out it was ok. If it stayed depressed in then that could be a sign that it was not working properly. Such as it may have a blockage forming cause if it stays in then its not sucking fluid thru it. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions or issues please post back. Good L uck.