Ventriculosinus shunt: a pilot study to investigate new technology to treat hydrocephalus and mimic physiological principles of cerebrospinal fluid drainage

OBJECTIVE Devices draining CSF to the intracranial venous sinus for the treatment of hydrocephalus have been tested in the past, and while clinically effective, have not shown efficacy in the long term. The majority of these devices become obstructed within 3 months due to endothelial overgrowth. In this study, the authors investigated a newly developed ventriculosinus (VS) shunt outlet device with the objective of showing it would remain patent for at least 6 months. METHODS Twelve patients in need of shunting for hydrocephalus underwent an operation using the investigational device and were followed for 6 months to record patency of the shunt. RESULTS In 10 patients, the shunt was patent at 6 months, with the outlet device remaining unobstructed. In the remaining 2 patients, one died just before reaching the 6-month endpoint, and in the other the outlet was misplaced during surgery and therefore ceased to function after 3 months. No occlusion of the internal jugular vein or thrombus formation was noted in any of the 12 cases. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the outlet device can remain patent and has the capability to mimic physiological drainage by diverting CSF to the intracranial sinus. Additional confirmation of its potential as part of a new VS shunt system and ultimately as a viable alternative for ventriculoperitoneal and ventriculoatrial shunting to reduce complication rates requires further clinical trials.