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A cerebral shunt is a device permanently implanted inside the head and body to drain excess fluid away from the brain. They are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus, the swelling of the brain due to excess buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Hydrocephalus can also be caused by overproduction of CSF (relative obstruction) (e.g., choroid plexus papilloma, villous hypertrophy). [26] [27] Bilateral ureteric obstruction is a rare, but reported, cause of hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus can be classified into communicating and noncommunicating (obstructive).
Diagram demonstrating surgical placement of a VP shunt used to manage NPH. For suspected cases of NPH, CSF shunting is the first-line treatment. The most common type used to treat NPH is ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts, which drain CSF fluid to the peritoneal cavity. Adjustable valves allow fine-tuning of CSF drainage.
Shunt nephritis is a rare disease of the kidney that can occur in patients being treated for hydrocephalus with a cerebral shunt. It usually results from an infected shunt that produces a long-standing blood infection, particularly by the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis .
An external ventricular drain (EVD), also known as a ventriculostomy or extraventricular drain, is a device used in neurosurgery to treat hydrocephalus and relieve elevated intracranial pressure when the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the brain is obstructed.
When catheter drainage is permanent, it is usually referred to as a shunt. There are many catheter-based ventricular shunts that are named for where they terminate, for example, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt terminates in the peritoneal cavity, a ventriculoatrial shunt terminates within the atrium of the heart, etc.
The shunt also has a valve which serves to maintain one-way flow of the CSF and regulates the flow rate. The end with the catheter is placed in the third ventricle to drain the excess CSF and the other end is placed in the peritoneal cavity or atrium of the heart (making it a ventriculoperitoneal or ventriculoatrial shunt, respectively). The ...
Cardiac shunts may be described as right-to-left, left-to-right or bidirectional, or as systemic-to-pulmonary or pulmonary-to-systemic.; Cerebral shunt: In cases of hydrocephalus and other conditions that cause chronic increased intracranial pressure, a one-way valve is used to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain and carry it to other parts of the body.