Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) placement is one of the most frequent procedures in neurosurgical practice. The position of the proximal ventricular catheter is important since it influences possible malfunction of the VPS. For the improvement of accuracy in proximal VPS placement, navigation-based insertion techniques have been developed. VPS placement using stereotactic navigation has shown a high accuracy of catheter placement been developed. VPS placement using stereotactic navigation has shown a high accuracy of catheter placement, while the main limitations are that for referencing, the head of the patient needs to be fixed in a head holder and the preoperative set-up can be time-consuming. US-G VPS placement using a burr hole probe was described as an alternate for image-guided VPS placement technique. For US-G VPS placement head fixation or preoperative registration is not needed. This study is to prospectively compare Ultrasound guided (US-G) Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS) placement to stereotactic navigation in a randomized controlled fashion with the surgical intervention time as primary outcome.
This study is to prospectively compare Ultrasound guided (US-G) Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS) placement to stereotactic navigation in a randomized controlled fashion with the surgical intervention time as primary outcome. All patients entering the University Hospital of Basel for elective or emergent VPS surgery will be randomized in 1:1 fashion to one of the study groups at admission or the day before the operation.