Getting a shunt

So they are removing Gabby's EVD tomorrow and putting in a shunt.  They were going to leave it for another day but are a little concerned about her getting meningitis.  Anytime things can get out of the brain they can also get in so the longer the EVD stays in the higher the possibility of getting infection.  The surgery will only be about an hour to an hour and a half and recovery is usually only a day or two so they are saying we should be able to go home by Sunday.  This will also relieve the fluctuating ICP and remove concerns of complications due to the high intercranial pressure.  I will be going to "shunt school" later today but basically they will put a pressure valve behind her ear and a tube from her brain into her tummy to drain the excess fluid.  They say this can last about 6 years and then they will have to tweak it once she has grown.  Once she has stopped growing a shunt can last up to 20 yrs.  We still do not know what time the surgery is tomorrow .

Comments

  1. Anonymous22 March 2017 at 08:42

    so happy that Gabby will be coming back to school soon.

    ReplyDelete

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