Know all about VP Shunt Placement
OVERVIEW
The ventriculoperitoneal shunt is commonly known as a VP shunt. It is a medical device that relieves pressure on the brain caused by excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulation. VP shunt is designed to primarily treat a medical condition called hydrocephalus, which occurs when excess CSF collects in the ventricles of the brain.
The role of fluid on the brain is to protect it from injury inside the skull. CSF acts as a delivery system for nutrients that the brain needs and takes away waste products. Fluid on the brain is reabsorbed into the blood.
Hydrocephalus occurs when the normal flow of CSF is disrupted or the reabsorption of CSF in the blood is reduced. This condition can, thus, create an adverse pressure on the tissues of the brain and harm it. A brain shunt surgery can help rectify this condition by diverting the CSF away from the brain, which restores normal flow and absorption of CSF. VP shunt is surgically placed inside one of the ventricles of the brain.
HOW IT IS PERFORMED
The management of hydrocephalus has always been a challenge for neurologists, neurosurgeons, engineers, and medical device developers because the nature of CSF is unique to each patient. However, the development of the VP shunt has made the treatment of hydrocephalus a bit easier. It has, in fact, become the most successful and primary therapy for hydrocephalus treatment.
A VP shunt looks like a tube and the shunt pathway contains some valves that act as on/off switches. The valve opens when the pressure difference across the valve exceeds the valve opening pressure. These valves are usually set to a fixed pressure.
Some accessory devices may be added to the shunt to modify valve functions. The role of accessory devices is to counter gravitational forces and to minimize over drainage of CSF when a patient is in a standing position. Further, a bubble-like reservoir can provide an external approach to the brain shunt surgery for making any changes in the measurement of pressure.
