Turkish Neurosurgery 2012 , Vol 22 , Num 2
Programmable Valve Shunts: Are They Really Better?
Rashim KATARIA, Vimal KUMAR, Veer Singh MEHTA
Paras Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Gurgaon, Haryana, India DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.3011-10.1 Programmable valve shunts allows selection of opening pressure of shunt valve. In the presented article, a unique complication pertaining to programmable shunts has been discussed. A 5-year-old boy who had tectal plate low grade glioma with obstructive hydrocephalus was managed with Codman programmable ventriculoperitoneal shunt. There was a spontaneous change in the opening pressure of the shunt valve leading to shunt malfunction. Routinely used household appliances produce a magnetic field strong enough to cause change in the setting of shunt valve pressure and may lead to valve malfunction. Other causes of programmable valve malfunction also discussed. Keywords : Hydrocephalus, Programmable valve shunts, Shunt malfunction, VP shunts
Corresponding author : Rashim Katarıa, rashim_kat@yahoo.com