Well, like most 3 year olds, I was running around crashing into things. From what I was told, my family and I were out of state on vacation. I was running around and crashed head first into the corner of a table. This turned off my shunt. My body went limp and I was unconscious. We returned home to the hospital to have another revision:
Veronica is a 3 1/2 year old female who did well until recently when she had a VP shunt replaced approximately six weeks ago. The course over the last 48 hours, however, she once again developed headaches, nausea, vomiting and lethargy. Was taken by her mother to the hospital ER where the tap of the shunt revealed no spontaneous flow of fluid out through the Richham reservoir Fluid could be aspirated with a syringe. A CT scan revealed frank ventricular dilation and there fore the patient was taken to surgery this morning for a revision of her shunt.
DATE: 11/1/85
PROCEDURE:
Operating Suite, anesthetized, intubated placed on the operating table in supine position with her head slightly turned toward left shoulder. The right and left sides of the head were shaved, prepped and draped. A curvilinear incision straddled the cornal suture was made on the left side of the midline, carried on down to the skull.
A single burr hole was placed in the intrapupillary line just rostral to the cornal suture on the left side. A ventricular catheter was placed into the left front horn on a single passage with the return of clear ventricular fluid under high pressure.
The ventricular catheter was connected to a Rickham reservoir and the Richham reservoir connected in turn to a medium pressure anti siphon containing Heyer Schulte device. The connections were secured with a 2-0 interrupted ieurilon ties. The old right frontal incision was reopened. The Richkam reservoir disconnected from the ventricular catheter and there was no spontaneous flow of fluid. The holter valve was drained up into the wound and disconnected from the abdominal catheter and the manometrics into the abdomen tested and found to be satisfactory.
The spring distal abdominal catheter was then connected to the multipurpose device and secured with a 2-0 interrupted neurlon tie. The ventricular cathether on the right side was removed. Wound was irrigated with saline and bacatracin solution. The wounds were then closed in layers from inside out utilizing 3-0 interrupted Dexon sutures and 3-0 running ethilon sutures in the skin. Standard dressing was placed on the wound and the child was taken to the Recovery room in satisfactory condition.
I remember hearing the surgeon say 'Oh she just turned off the valve, we'll reset it.' Next thing I knew, I was awake in the hospital.
