In
medicine, a shunt is a hole or a small passage that moves, or allows movement of,
fluid from one part of the
body to another. The term may describe either
congenital or acquired shunts; acquired shunts (sometimes referred to as
iatrogenic shunts) may be either biological or mechanical.
Types
Cardiac shunts may be described as right-to-left, left-to-right or bidirectional, or as systemic-to-pulmonary or pulmonary-to-systemic.
Lumbar-peritoneal shunt (a.k.a. lumboperitoneal, LP): In cases of chronic increased
intracranial pressure such as
idiopathic intracranial hypertension and
hydrocephalus, a tube or shunt with or without a
one-way valve is used to drain the excess
cerebrospinal fluid from the
brain and transport it to the peritoneal cavity. Unlike the ventriculoperitoneal shunt, however, a lumbar-peritoneal shunt is usually inserted in between two of the vertebrae in the lumbar and punctures the cerebrospinal fluid sack or lumbar subarachnoid space, it then runs beneath the
skin to the peritoneal cavity, where it is eventually drained away by the normal bodily fluid drainage system.[1]
VASP (Vesicoamniotic shunting procedure): Fetal lower urinary tract outflow obstruction prevents the unborn baby from passing urine. This can result in a reduction in the volume of
amniotic fluid, and problems with the development of the baby's lungs and kidneys. A vesico–amniotic shunt is a tube that it is inserted into the unborn baby's bladder to drain the excess fluid into the surrounding space.[3]