miethke Shuntassistant 2.0 Patientenhandbuch Seite 21

Treatment methods
Even though there have been consistent efforts to find alternative treat-
ment options to the implantation of a valve, e.g. by drug-based treatment
or recently by minimally invasive surgical procedures, there is to this day
not really an alternative in many cases to the implantation of a drainage
system, known as a shunt.
In a hydrocephalus, intracranial pressure has to be reduced to within nor-
mal limits. To this end, in most cases a shunt system is implanted, creating
a link between the ventricles and another bodily cavity - generally the ab-
domen - in order to drain of excess CSF from the ventricles.
There are three types of shunt implantation:
1. ventriculo-atrial (from the ventricle to the right atrium of the heart)
2. ventriculo-peritoneal (from the ventricle to the abdominal cavity)
3. lumbo-peritoneal (from the spinal canal to the abdominal cavity)
1. 2. 3.
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SA 2.0 PATIENT MANUAL //