BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Children born with hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain” must have shunts implanted to drain the fluid away from the brain to reduce harmful pressure. While shunts do their job well, the rate of shunt infection in children is very high for a variety of reasons, which requires putting the child through another surgery to replace the shunt, bringing with it more hospital time, potential additional neurological complications and an increased risk of death. Now a new trial conducted by faculty at the University at Buffalo has shown that using antimicrobial sutures to secure the shunt and close the wound significantly reduces the number of shunt infections arising during the first six months after surgery. Results of the trial appear online in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics and will be published in the August issue of the journal.
