We had an appointment with Gideon's neurologists today and he had another CT scan. They've recommended that we have the shunt put in, so we'll go in tomorrow morning for the surgery. If all goes well, we'll only be in the hospital for one night after the surgery.
The shunt has been described to us as a tube the size of a piece of spaghetti that will run from the ventricle in the brain, under the scalp, and down into the abdominal cavity. There is going to be enough tube put in that he'll have enough to grow to full size with this one shunt. The surgeon didn't make it sound like it is very common, but certainly possible for a kid to go a couple of decades before needing a shunt revision.
Of course, the purpose of the shunt is to drain excess fluid away from the brain. Normally, the fluid would flow away from the brain through the same opening the spinal cord goes through, but because of things related to the spina bifida, a part of the brain is misshapen and isn't allowing the fluid to flow down like it normally would. The shunt will solve that problem. However, if the shunt breaks or gets kinked or clogged or whatever, it will have to be replaced in another surgery.
The doctor also tells us there is a risk of infection that hits between 5-7% of kids that get this surgery. In that case, the hospital stay is a few weeks long until the child is fully recovered. We are very confident in Gideon's general good health right now and I am praying we won't have any complications. He is eating and sleeping so well and I expect his mother's milk will prove to be a good shield.
Again, thank you for all of your prayers on Gideon's behalf.
