Various types of shunt valves have been developed during the past 50 years, most of which can be classified into the following categories: (1) fixed differential pressure valves; (2) fixed differential pressure (DP) valves with an antisiphon mechanism; (3) programmable DP valves; (4) programmable DP valves with an antisiphon mechanism; and (5) programmable antisiphon valves. When considering th...

The authors describe a newly recognized complication of lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt placement, namely, intracranial hypotension from leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through a defect in the lumbar dura created by the shunt catheter. They report on a 47-year-old obese woman with idiopathic intracranial hypertension who underwent routine placement of an LP shunt. Following surgery, her headach...

A retrospective study of patients with cerebrospinal fluid shunt infections was undertaken from 1975 to 1989 in a university hospital. The data were analyzed with emphasis on the choice of treatment and outcome. There were 44 infectious episodes in 38 patients for an overall rate of 2.6%, including 30 ventriculoperitoneal, 11 ventriculoatrial and 3 lumboperitoneal shunts. The most frequently is...

A 59 year old woman was admitted to hospital in January 1989. She had difficulty in walking and urinary incontinence for three months. Examination disclosed spastic paraparesis and gait ataxia. No demential sign was found. Computerized tomography showed ventricular dilatation. The symptoms and signs. computed tomography (CT)findings and other investigations confirmed the diagnosis of normal pre...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive approaches for the initial placement of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) and lumboperitoneal (LP) shunts have been well described. A laparoscopic approach has multiple advantages over open techniques, including decreased morbidity, more rapid recovery, and ability to visually assess catheter function. However, few series have addressed the role of laparosco...

Since the invention of the first implantable shunt valve by Nulsen and Spitz (12) almost 50 years ago, there has been a remarkable number of ingenious modifications and new designs of shunt equipment to treat pediatric hydrocephalus. These developments were in response to the immediately evident high shunt failure rate. These designs included antisiphon devices (15), on-off devices, gravity-act...

Lateral cervical meningocele is an extremely rare developmental anomaly. We could find only one such case protruding from an enlarged C2-3 intervertebral foramen. It may be confused with an extradural cyst or cystic hygroma. Direct needling may introduce infection and thereby pyogenic meningitis and so should be avoided. Similarly, incision and drainage may transform it into cerebrospinal fluid...