Raza S Rizvi.
Hydrocephalus Bhatti Ventriculosystemic Shunts.
Ann Abbasi Shaheed Hosp Karachi Med Dent Coll Jan ;5:178-82.

Awareness of the high cost and erratic availability of imported shunt for the relief of hydrocephalus led Prof. I. H. Bhatti to develop an inexpensive chemically bonded silicone elastomer ventriculosystemic shunt for ventriculoperitoneal (VP) & ventriculoatrial (VA) shunts. The shunts are designed in double and single valve systems. Double valve system can be used as VP & VA shunt. It comprises of a ventricular catheter and flushing chamber with a pair of slit valves within the chamber. The flushing chamber is bonded to a peritoneal or cardiac catheter with two pairs of valves at distal end. Single valve system can only be used as VP shunt especially in postmeningitic cases. A total of 936 hydrocephalic patients were treated at Department of Neurosurgery Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center between October 1979 to December 1991. Out of which 885 patients were treated with 944 Bhatti shunts and 51 with 54 imported shunts. Patients below one year were 533, between one to ten years 241 and above ten years were 162. Etiology of hydrocephalus was developmental defects in 511, tumors in 178, pyogenic meningitis in 131 and tuberculous meningitis in 90 patients. 17 patients died as a result of complication of shunt surgery. Early and late post operative complications occurred in 201 patients (21.1%). Complications include shunt obstruction in 104 patient (10.9%) shunt infection in 32 patients (3.3%) and miscellaneous in 65 patients (6.9%). The revisions and complications of Bhatti shunts are less as compared with that reported for other shunt systems justifying the continued use of this inexpensive shunt in clinical practice.

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