Hydrocephalus Support Group

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AS1977 11/04/2012

Let me start off by saying I feel great! I am pain free and completely recovered from my last bought with hydro. My most recent shunt revision was in March 2011. My problem is that the statistics regarding shunt problems and hydrocephalus are bothering me. I have heard several times that 50% of shunts fail within two years (of course I believe most of them fail within weeks of implantation), and that most shunts need to be replaced within two to seven years.

Can anyone tell me what the lifespan on the newer programmable shunts? Shunts problems and the surgeries that accompany them are my definition of hell on Earth. Am I doomed to go through it again within the next few years, or can I last decades before I have to go through this ordeal again? Before my ETV in 2010 and the new shunt in 2011, my last surgery was in May 1990. Can I realistically think that I can go 20 years again without having more surgery? My hope is to never see the inside of an OR ever again.

deleted_user 11/05/2012

From what I understand about programmable shunts, they are implanted to stay there, and they are adjusted by an external device. But I don't know anyone personally who has one, so I don't know how accurate this is.

deleted_user 11/06/2012

New programable shunts are supposed to cause less problems, and I've always tbought newer woud be better.... I have had a shunt since birth it got revised when I was 14 and I've had the one have now for 14 years with no problems so far the only b reason I had to have the revision was because the tubing deteriorated when I was born they told my parents every 5 years shunts need replaced then they found a dr that said if its not broke don't fix it so essentially if you feel fine there is no reason you can't go another 20 years without surgery, I was told at my last revision its all based on the first two weeks to see if your body accepts it or rejects it once u get past that unless it breaks (like mine did) you shouldn't have a problem I hope this helps

whatdafxxx 11/10/2012

I'm not sure about the new ones, but when I had surgery as a baby in 1995, they made one extending surgery 3 years later and if everything goes well, it will last lifelong.

My neurosurgeon told me that, had I been born a few years later they wouldn't have made a shunt but they would have made a hole through the ventricle or at the back of the CSF space so maybe in your case they also could have solved the problem in another way.
Did they tell you anything about other possibilities?

deleted_user 11/12/2012

My shunt has lasted 10+ years. It's an older version, seems to work well. The first few years are indicators of whether the shunt is working or not- I had to have 3 shunt revisions in 2 years before i got this one. but they can (supposedly) last up to 20 years.

saber666 11/27/2012

i've had my shunt since i was 10 so i think it really depends on the person.

deleted_user 11/29/2012

I agree that it depends on the person. My 5 year old is on her second shunt and has slit ventricles. The last study I read said close to 5 years is average

deleted_user 11/30/2012

I have had two types of programmable valves in the last three years. The first one had 4 settings and did not work out well. The second one that was put in has 18 settings. A couple settings worked for brief periods but overall it did not go well. In December I am going to be having a lumbar shunt put in. It is supposed to work with the VP shunt that is in my head to regulate the fluid speed off my brain. I went about 12 years with no problems. I think it was a fluke. From everyone I have talked to, and everything I read, people with shunts usually have a revision once a year, maybe every couple of years

deleted_user 12/12/2012

Its really hard to say how long they last. I've gotten opinions from different people but never a straight answer. My daughter is on her SECOND Medtronic Strata Programmable Shunt Valve. Her first only lasted two months, but thanks to God this new one is over a year old now!

deleted_user 12/14/2012

I cannot say about the new programmable shunts. My last revision was in 1979, so I have the old type. Back then, I was lucky to go 4-years without a problem But, many of my shunt problems were because they were Veinacatheter shunts that would develop a blood clot because I grew and the shunt was then too short.

canamerica88 03/22/2013

I have an old school shunt, and I've had it for a year and a half- no problemos! :D

deleted_user 03/26/2013

I agree that it really depends on the person. My first programmable shunt lasted for 3 months and then blocked, my second was non programmable and lasted a few days (I was still in the hospital recovering from having it inserted when it malfunctioned) and my 3rd shunt (programmable again) lasted a little over a month and then the programmable valve began to malfunction. I am currently waiting to have it revised. I think I have been particularly unlucky! I know others who have had their shunts in for years and years with absolutely no problems.

deleted_user 03/27/2013

I am 51. I have had 38 revisions. My last one was when I was 18. You do the math.

deleted_user 06/24/2013

I've had mine since (I think) June or July of 2003. I had to have a catheter replaced in March of 2005, but other than that no problems.

gnarlyer 03/04/2017

I am 58 yrs old, shunted @ 1 month of age, revision done in 1981. Sounds like we all experience Hydro in different ways. I feel great and hope the same for you.

MadRab 07/10/2017

Afternoon shunters. Shunts are funny things - sometimes they go wrong easily, sometimes not. I had a shunt put in in Sep 93, blocked a month later, not had a problem since, so 24 years and counting. Oh, yeah, and drink lots of water. Works for me.

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