For those who have had shunt surgery

Do you know what material your shunt is made of? I need an MRI and I can't get it done without definitive proof that my shunt isn't made of metal.

I got my shunt in 1993. My records no longer exist. Someone from the hospital where I'm supposed to have the MRI called the hospital where I had the shunt done and was told that at the time of my surgery I would have been given a card stating what materials were used. I have no such card and don't remember ever having one. You would think someone at that hospital would know what type of shunts they were using in 1993, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I believe my shunt is made of silicone, but it's been so long ago, I can't remember for sure.

It's too late in the day now, but tomorrow I'm going to call the MRI department where they're trying to schedule my MRI and ask if they could x-ray my head to see if there's any metal in my left inner ear.

I'm thinking, though, if this were a possibility, it would have been mentioned by now, since I was told earlier today that an MRI may be not be possible.

Thoughts?

 

Thanks, California Sun. I know that just because some shunts are silicone, that doesn't necessarily mean they all are. I just wanted to find out if people know what their shunts are made from and if they are mostly silicone. I'm glad the shunts worked for you. The goal of having shunt surgery is to stop the vertigo attacks, thus preserving the hearing you still have at the time of surgery. Sounds like that's exactly how they worked for you.

Hi Irishstu,

The shunt surgery was a big disaster for me. I woke up from the surgery profoundly deaf in the shunted ear and with severe vertigo. It was done on December 21 and the room was still spinning when I was discharged late in the day on December 24. It was only supposed to be either outpatient or an overnight stay.

The spinning vertigo eventually went away, but I continued to have the sensation that my surroundings were continuously moving in waves. I had double vision for several days. A few days after I got home from the hospital, I had a major vertigo attack and the attacks continued to come in rapid succession. I would maybe have two or three attacks on the same day. On top of everything else, the tinnitus and aural fullness were worse than ever. Occasionally, I would have a day with no vertigo. I am not exaggerating when I say I was having vertigo more often than not.

The surgeon who did the surgery had no explanation and gave me a diagnosis of permanent vertigo.

Eleven months later I had a VNS, which ended the vertigo. Fullness and tinnitus eventually went away, too, though that shouldn't be expected.

My Meniere's became bilateral several years later. Vertigo from the second ear was much slower moving and the attacks were of shorter duration. I now have profound hearing loss in the shunted/VNS ear and severe hearing loss in the other one. I get by with a hearing aid in the better hearing ear and lip reading.

 

Thanks, California Sun and Irishstu.

As far as MM goes, things are pretty good now. Once in awhile I have a flare up of aural fullness and tinnitus in the non VNS ear. The tinnitus is usually of the pulsatile variety and can last for several days. That's the one thing that drives me nearly insane. I have fleeting little spins every now and then, but I haven't had a horrible, hours long spin for about four years. My hearing is lousy and my balance isn't what it used to be, but things could be worse. I had my first MM vertigo attack somewhere around 44 years ago. I'm thankful to be doing as well as I am.