The Long Term Assessment of Shunts in Hydrocephalus

Abstract

Two hundred and eighty-six patients with myelomeningocele and hydrocephalus, and 167 patients with hydrocephalus not associated with myelomeningocele, were investigated 10 to 22 years after the first insertion of the shunt. It was found that in the whole group of 453 patients, 16 % no longer needed their shunt because it had either been removed or became disconnected for over 2 years, without giving rise to adverse signs. In those 103 patients with myelomeningocele whose follow-up was over 16 years, 23 % no longer needed their shunt.