GBF,

My vote is VP. Charlotte said it well, Risk vs reward. It is a little scarier (and you will look that way after surgery) but they have a lot better success rate. Remember that they are a common surgery for those with Hydrocephalus. UCLA does at least one a day at their hospital. It will be what I do if/when that day comes.

In a preveous post I recommended that you get a green and yellow one and I'll get a purple and white one, LOL.

TJ

Thanks TJ..I was thinking that I read somewhere on here that the VP has a better success rate. Do they shave your head for it? yes, a green and gold one would be awesome! Why don't you want the same color as mine?? lol. Thanks for the reply :)

Cuz the purple people eaters eat cheese too! LOL

Not your whole head but quite a bit of it. I am actually going to just shave it all. The last time when they did the pressure sensor test they did not shave enough and when they pulled the tape off the dressing I thought they were pulling the top of my head off too. No hair no ouch and hair will grow back (hopefully).

TJ

GBF,

I have a VP shunt. They no longer shave your entire head. I had like a horseshoe shape shaved. The worst part was not getting to wash my hair for 2 weeks until the staples came out. My doctor will not do LP shunts because of the revisions and failure rates.

Christie

Hi, I am actually for a programmable LP shunt since people with PTC tend to have small ventricles (the sign of hydrocephalus in swollen ventricles) and so the tubing collapses easier and revisions are required. (I have a LP shunt but it is not programmable so I am trying to find a Dr. who does them).
As you can see everybody has their own opinion, and maybe mine will change if a Dr. convinces me that a VP shunt is better for me, lol.

I know one person who swears that a cisternal shunt is the best shunt of all (she has had numerous revisions on her VP shunt)....so I guess you have to decide for yourself which is right for you.

I do know that they don't shave your head, and they don't want you to shave your own head before the surgery for the risk of infection.

Good luck on deciding, Blessings, Jazzy

What does the VP shunt look like after every thing is over with? I had trouble researching the procedure as it applies to adults. I had the unfortunate experience of google imaging it and it brought up babies post-op. Not gross, but very sad. The device was very apparent under the skin. I realize this is totally vain and would not have much pull in any decision making... but as I do prefer to freak out when I am not at a choice-point... Would I have to have long hair again?

Bax

Bax,

Your are hilarious! I almost drowned on the grape juice coming out my nose. Wake up!!! You are concerned about having long hair again? Do you remember what I look like? I am freaking out about what my head will look like cuz I basically have no hair! You already have long hair based on my definition. Funny girl! LOL

I was told I will be able to feel it under my skin but now you have me wondering how much will I feel it and am I really going to look like the Borg that I have been telling everyone about. Oh boy, the plot thickens.

Check out youtube and there are some videos on the procedure and people who have them.

TJ
Future Borg Head

TJ, you should never try to inhale the grape juice! It doesn't work that way.

Let me explain.

The only sily question is one not asked, and I was thinking of you, too, and by no means was intending to compare situations. And, by the phrase "freak out..." I meant if there was any freaking out to be done, I need to do it well in advance of any conversation with a doctor. And I was also thinking of the women who have very long hair and have to shave it, as GBF asked. A change in identity is difficult for everyone. Let's consider this for a moment, cause I didn't have to go to work today and I need the mental exercise. This is mostly supposition, of course.

For women with long, flow-y hair, the identity might be about being feminine and beautiful. Makes her feel sexy. Some women take a lot of time into designing it every morning into different configurations. Take that away and its hard for her to continue to feel that way about herself anymore. And how a person feels about herself gets projected out into the world. The good news is, it is temporary in this case. Hair grows back in time.

For a short-haired lass, the image might be confidence. Or sass. After shaving, I could have my old hairstyle in a matter of months. If I felt the need to go long to hide something, the "change in identity" would have to be more permanent.

Guys aren't supposed to be into their looks. But not so. My hair is an inch long in back, and I got scolded about how good I've got it (but it is true). There is less of an opportunity for TJ to hide his implant if needbe. Will baseball caps be comfortable? Will the pirate bandana and eye patch fit the same? And it's probably not even that noticible anyway, especially if the doc only said that you'd be able to feel it.

But this really only just touches the surface because it's all very personal. I really like having short hair. Easy to wash, don't have to style, and so on. Dig a little deeper and you find I had an abusive ex-husband that wouldn't allow me to have short hair. So it's an expression of independence. Until the last decade, I've always been too poor to afford regular haircuts. Short hair is also a sign of financial stability. But it is just hair, and I would be willing to sacrifice it if I got to that point in my IIH journey. So, no freaking out necessary. Don't choke on the grape juice!

GBF,

My vote is definitely for the VP shunt. And go programmable if you can. My NS is amazing and very current on the latest and greatest. He won't even do LP shunts anymore. I have had both and the LP one was a horror to deal with (possibly due to surgical incompetence from my then NS) and took my pressure too low. It also needed a revision 8 days after placement because the drain had pulled out of my abdomen. Then the damn thing broke a month later. (Old NS denies this, but new NS has confirmed it.)
The VP one is scary. I won't lie. But a great surgeon is the key. Mine is Dr. Matt Ewend at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the Chief and a truly amazing person. He tells me like it is and has been so supportive. My 1st NS gave me the whole "ventricles too compressed for a VP" speech. New NS took one look at me and told me I needed a VP shunt and the whole "too compressed" thing was an excuse. The VP shunt has been the only thing to stop the pressure in my head and therefore has saved my vision.
The shaving head/hair thing is a challenge too. Bax, you are so rocking the short hair! Don't give it up. Going into the surgery I thought I was prepared for the shaving but it still freaked me out. They shaved about a 2 inch wide strip starting at the center of my head down to behind me ear. They were able to leave me about a 1/2 inch of hair along my hairline so I have something to work with to cover it up a bit. I had my husband take a picture of the shaved ugliness and the scars right after we got home from the hospital and I can send it to you so you can really see what I had to deal with. Every place is different though. From reading other posts it seems like some folks had more shaved than I did. But I did flip out a bit. The NS drew me a picture of how big the incisions would be but I was not clear that he was going to shave my hair from one incision to the other. The day after surgery in the hospital when I got up to pee and pulled a big hank of 2 foot long hair out of the gross, betadine covered mess that was my head I did burst into tears. The hair thing has hit me harder than I thought it would. I don't leave the house w/o my trusty pirate scarf even though my husband insists that no one can really tell. I will warn you too that my NS has not let me dye my hair yet and my surgery was March 12th. So my new crazy hair (that stands straight up regardless of what I try to do with it) is my, gasp, natural color. Which makes the scarf even more necessary. And the alarm of finding out that my natural color is now about 65% gray has sucked too. Eh, what can you do?
As for the how much can you see the shunt apparatus question - my answer is more than I thought. Sorry to report that TJ - your borg future sounds imminent. Even with very thick hair I can really feel the bump of the reservoir. If I pull my hair back tightly to my head I can see it. The creepiest thing is when my NS "hit my reset button" to check to see if the shunt was working well. He told me never to play with it myself though and I swear I have woken up some times with my husband perched over me just about to press the button. It is killing him not to play with my new toy.
Okay, this got really long-winded. GBF and others - don't let my over-sharing about my hair hang ups and borg bumps dissuade you from getting the VP shunt. My NS says they are by far superior to LPs for so many reasons. TJ - I know you asked me a bunch of other questions about the VP so I will go find that post and try to answer those questions too. It has helped me so much to read about everyone else's experiences, the very least I can do it try to share what I have been though so we all can make the best decisions for ourselves and our health.
Bianca

Wow, thanks Bianca!

Thanks Bianca! Great information. I love the part about your husband....men love to play with their new tech toys! LOL. And don't ever worry about writing too much. Everyone here will attest that I've written far more. (I'm working on getting better about that btw.)

- MM3