At Georgia Brain & Spine Center
When neurosurgeons refer to a shunt, they’re typically referring to a ventricular-peritoneal shunt. This shunt is typically used to treat a condition called hydrocephalus.
In people with hydrocephalus, there is a problem with the way their cerebrospinal fluid flows and this causes it to pool in the brain. That excess fluid can put pressure on the brain, leading to a variety of symptoms.
For hydrocephalus, we use a shunt to drain that pooled cerebrospinal fluid and divert it to prevent the problem from happening in the future. During the surgery, our neurosurgery team makes a small hole in the skull and passes a tiny catheter into the spinal fluid cavity. We then connect this catheter to a valve that controls the draining spinal fluid. On the opposite side of the valve, we connect another catheter and direct that catheter to the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen. By doing this, we divert the extra cerebrospinal fluid into the abdominal cavity where it is absorbed into the blood stream.