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Born With Congenial Hydrocephalus. Noticed Fluid Buildup Around The Shunt Valve. Reason?

Posted on Fri, 26 Jul 2013

Question: my baby is 4 months old and was born with congenial hydrocephalus. she has a shunt and there is fluid buildup around the shunt valve. i was by the neuro sergeon yesterday and they took and mri and xray of my baby and everthing came out ok. ns said that sometimes there can be fluid buildup even if everything is ok. so how does the fluid buildup happen? why would there be fluid buildup if everything is ok? what happens when there is fluid buildup? does fluid come out of the shunt under the skin. is there a leek in the shunt. does it come out of the hole that the sergion makes when he places the shunt? did the doctor make a too big whole in the bone when he placed the shunt? is it gonna grow back to fit the shunt?
Thanks. please try to be detailed.

Answered by Dr. E Venkata Ramana (5 hours later)

Hi,

Thank you for your query on Healthcare Magic.

I can feel your concern.

Before advising you I need some details about the child.

Is child is irritable?

Is he taking feeds well?

Is he having vomitings or fever at present?

Is his head size is growing excessively?

Is there any decreased movements of limbs?

What about his developmental milestones?

Is the fluid there in the valve or tissue around the valve?

What is important in shunt is know whether it is functioning properly or not.

If the shunt is functioning properly, and without any shunt complications, nothing to worry.

Please provide me the above details in your next follow up query, so that I will try to advise you in a better way.

Awaiting for the information.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. E Venkata Ramana (21 minutes later)

i tried uploading a picture of the shunt but it didnt work. instead i sent it to the email address i got an email from. i think its YYYY@YYYY

i dont know if she is irritable because she cries alot but she calms down when i feed her.

no fever and no vomiting.

its for the past 2 weeks like this so dont know if its affecting development. she is just 4 months. it was like this right after sergery for about 2 months and then it went down and now its back like this.

the fluid is under the skin outside the valve. its like a bubble filled with fluid. and the shunt valve is inside.

is it possible for the shunt to work properly and there should be fluid anyway. does it go away with time?

Thanks for your concern

Answered by Dr. E Venkata Ramana (1 hour later)

Hi,

Thank you for getting back.

I went through the picture you have sent.

If the MRI brain and X XXXXXXX are normal, and the shunt is functioning normally as evidenced by clinical examination by the neurosurgeon, nothing to worry.

The fluid around the valve may be due to accumulation of fluid around the valve.

This may be due to leak of fluid near the valve.

This type of fluid accumulation is seen some times in mechanical shunt malfunction like shunt disconnection or fracture or breakage.

Without physical examination and assessment of the shunt function and integrity,
it is difficult to know the cause for the accumulation of fluid.

Therefore I advise you to discuss your concerns with the treating neurosurgeon and further evaluation may be done for shunt function and its integrity if the doctor advises.

Hope I have answered your query, if you have any clarification p-lease let me know.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar