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Ventriculoperitoneal shunting - Risks

Alternative Names

Shunt - ventriculoperitoneal; VP shunt; Shunt revision

Risks:

Risks for any anesthesia are:

  • Reactions to medications
  • Problems breathing
  • Changes in blood pressure or breathing rate

Risks for any surgery are:

  • Bleeding
  • Infection

Possible risks of ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement are:

  • Blood clot or bleeding in the brain
  • Brain swelling
  • The shunt may stop working and fluid will begin to build up in the brain again.
  • The shunt may become infected.
  • Infection in the brain
  • Damage to brain tissue
  • Seizures
  • Reviewed last on: 11/22/2010
  • Kevin Sheth, MD, Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Etiological categories of neurological disease. In: Goetz CG, ed. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 28.

Kinsman SL, Johnston MV. Congential anomalies of the central nervous system. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 592.

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