The history of the treatment for hydrocephalus dates back to the Fertile Crescent thousands of years ago. Despite three millennia of management, significant advances in the surgical treatment of the disease have been infrequent. During the 1950s, a milestone occurred at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with the successful development of the first working shunt valve for the treatment of hydrocephalus. In this historical vignette, based on recent interviews with John Holter, D.Sc. (Hon) and Eugene Spitz. M.D., and on a review of the available literature, the authors narrate the exciting story of the development of the Spitz-Holter valve, which took place in Philadelphia during the early 1950s.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.3171/jns.2001.95.1.0145 | DOI Listing |
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Development of the Spitz-Holter valve in Philadelphia.
J Neurosurg
July 2001
Division of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
The history of the treatment for hydrocephalus dates back to the Fertile Crescent thousands of years ago. Despite three millennia of management, significant advances in the surgical treatment of the disease have been infrequent. During the 1950s, a milestone occurred at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with the successful development of the first working shunt valve for the treatment of hydrocephalus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors present a report on 64 children operated between January 1, 1982 and December 31, 1986 on account of infantile hydrocephalus. As the primary operation in the great majority of children ventriculo-atrial drainage with a valve according to Spitz- Holter (60 times) was indicated, in exceptional cases ventriculo-mastoidostomy according to Nosik without a valve (four times). Thirty-eight patients (59%) had to be re-operated, some repeatedly on account of different disorders of the system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple pulmonary embolism in patients with ventriculoatrial shunts: a report on two cases.
J Intern Med
June 1989
Department of Medicine, University Central Hospital of Kuopio, Finland.
Pulmonary embolism occurred in two patients with a Spitz-Holter shunt. One patient had a massive pulmonary embolism which resulted in the development of pulmonary hypertension. The patient suffered another episode of embolism during warfarin therapy and died.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDouble-stimulation with LH-RH in primary amenorrhea caused by chronic internal hydrocephylus: a case study.
Gynecol Endocrinol
June 1987
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany.
A 19-year-old female patient with primary amenorrhea and pubertas tarda due to chronic internal hydrocephalus presented with normal hormonal findings except for low estradiol and a prepubertal type of reaction in the double-stimulation test with LH-RH. After successful operative treatment with a Spitz-Holter high-pressure valve, the intracranial decompression was promptly followed by pubertal development, she began to menstruate, and the LH-RH double-stimulation test showed an adult pattern of response. The results of the test support the view that a partial deficiency in the secretion of LH-RH is the cause of hypogonadism in such a case.
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