Seven-year clinical experience with the Codman Hakim programmable valve: a retrospective study of 583 patients

Abstract

A retrospective study was undertaken to assess the value of the Codman Hakim programmable valve in the treatment of 583 patients (421 adults and 162 children) with hydrocephalus of various causes (379), normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) (174), an arachnoidal cyst (14), and pseudotumor cerebri (16). In all patients the programmable valve was implanted (the valve can be noninvasively adjusted to settings in the range of 30-200 mm H 2 O). In 73% of the cases this was their first shunt implantation. Ninety-two percent of the shunts drained to the peritoneal cavity and 8% to the atrium. In 42% of the cases valve pressure adjustment was required at least once (mean number of adjustments 1.2, maximum 23). The authors present reprogramming statistics, and strategies for reprogramming are discussed. In 65% of the cases in which pressure adjustments were required, reprogrammings improved the patients' clinical status. The overall infection rate was 8.5% (56 of 660 valve implantations). Valve malfunction, blockage, or reprogramming difficulty occurred in 17 cases, and nontraumatic subdural fluid collections were demonstrated in 30 cases (13 of which were treated by valve pressure reprogramming alone). Of the patients undergoing first-time shunt placement, 21.5% eventually underwent shunt revision at least once, and a total of 318 revisions were performed during the 7-year follow-up period. At follow up, 97% of children and 90% of adults had improved. In conclusion, catheter-related complications and shunt-related infections were the main reasons for revision and the major cause of shunt failure. Few incidents of valve malfunction were observed. The Hakim Codman programmable valve is of value in the treatment of hydrocephalus of all causes, especially in the treatment of patients with NPH, pseudotumor cerebri, arachnoidal cyst, aqueductal stenosis, traumatic hydrocephalus, and intraventricular hemorrhage.