My third week of summer immersion

 I am xinzi he. My medical mentors are dr. Ajar guitar and kooman kamel. On Thursday, I got an special opportunity shadowing a neurosurgeon dr. Cisse. The surgery is vp shunt and was in Whitney operation room. Vp shunt stands for ventriculoperitoneal shunt and is used to treat hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is the swelling of the ventricle in brain caused by excess buildup of cerebrospinal fluid. By embedding vp shunt into patient’s brain, it could reduce the pressure exerted by the brain’s ventricle system. 

The procedure of placing vp shunt requires a patience being put into a general anesthesia condition, thus no pain will be felt by the patient. After the anesthesia, a nurse needs to shave the area where a hole will be drilled for inserting a catheter through into the ventricle according to the ct image. The other end of catheter will go through the chest and abdomen, and finally be inserted into abdominal cavity. 


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