| Cerebral shunt | |
|---|---|
 A diagram of a typical brain shunt | |
| MeSH | D002557 |
A cerebral shunt is a device permanently implanted inside the head and body to drain excess fluid away from the brain. They are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus, the swelling of the brain due to excess buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). If left unchecked, the excess CSF can lead to an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP), which can cause intracranial hematoma, cerebral edema, crushed brain tissue or herniation.[1] The drainage provided by a shunt can alleviate or prevent these problems in patients with hydrocephalus or related diseases.
Shunts come in a variety of forms, but most of them consist of a valve housing connected to a catheter, the lower end of which is usually placed in the peritoneal cavity. The main differences between shunts are usually in the materials used to construct them, the types of valve (if any) used, and whether the valve is programmable or not.[2]
- ^ Hlatky, Roman; Valadka, Alex B.; Robertson, Claudia S. (2003). "Intracranial hypertension and cerebral ischemia after severe traumatic brain injury". Neurosurgical Focus. 14 (4): e2. doi:10.3171/foc.2003.14.4.2. PMID 15679301.
- ^ Bradley, William G.; Bahl, Gautam; Alksne, John F. (2006). "Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus may be a 'Two Hit' disease: Benign external hydrocephalus in infancy followed by deep white matter ischemia in late adulthood". Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 24 (4): 747–55. doi:10.1002/jmri.20684. PMID 16958056. S2CID 41201974.