Ventricular Peritoneal Shunts and Other Shunt Surgeries

What is a ventriculoperitoneal shunt?

A ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a fine plastic tube carefully guided into the brain to remove a surplus of cerebrospinal fluid from the region. Cerebrospinal fluid is a protective fluid that coats the brain and spinal cord, protecting these essential structures.

VP shunts, a life-saving procedure, are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus, a condition that results in the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s ventricles. Hydrocephalus is a disorder that causes the ventricles to dilate due to increased pressure from the build-up of CSF. A VP shunt helps drain excess cerebrospinal fluid to prevent an increase in pressure in the brain.

Roald Dhal, the world's famous children's author, together with an engineer, helped develop a valve for a shunt to assist his son, who suffered from hydrocephalus at the time.

How do you place a ventriculoperitoneal shunt?

The placement of a VP shunt, a carefully guided and precise procedure, is done while the patient is heavily sedated under general anaesthetic. A tiny hole is made in the skull, and one end of the catheter is inserted through the brain into the ventricle (pocket of CSF in the brain). The catheter connects to a valve, which conjoins to a second catheter. The shunt is tunneled under the skin to the abdomen where the other end of the shunt is placed into the abdomen through a small incision. Once the shunt is firmly in place, the surgeon uses stitches to seal the incision.

How does a ventriculoperitoneal shunt work?

A majority of shunts comprise two catheters that are properly conjoined by means of a valve. One end of the catheter remains inside a ventricle. In contrast, the other end of the downstream catheter rests in the peritoneal cavity, the space inside the abdomen where the bowels and stomach are. The valve only opens once the pressure in the brain rises, in which case, fluid drains from the brain to the peritoneal region. After this, the residual fluid is reabsorbed into the bloodstream.