What Is in a Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Kit? A Component Checklist

A DESU ventriculoperitoneal shunt kit contains five core components: a valve (Defit, Decurve or Depus), a 23 cm ventricular catheter with 1.3 mm inner and 2.5 mm outer diameter, a 120 cm peritoneal catheter with 1.1 mm inner and 2.5 mm outer diameter, a stylet and a right-angled connector. An antisiphon device can be added, and Depus kits can also include a reservoir.

This checklist is for theatre nurses preparing a case, stores teams receiving stock and buyers building a formulary for shunt systems.

What are the core components of a VP shunt kit?

The catheter dimensions are identical across the Defit, Decurve and Depus kits. What changes from one family to the next is the valve, so the valve is where most ordering questions arise.

Which valve is in the kit?

Check the valve family, size and pressure on the label against the surgeon’s request before the kit is opened.

• Defit: flat-bottom silicone valve with no metal parts, in Ultra Small (35 mm overall length), Small (40 mm) and Regular (45 mm), each with low, medium or high fixed pressure.
• Decurve: round burr-hole silicone valve with a reservoir and no metal parts, in a paediatric size (23 mm nominal diameter) and an adult size (28 mm), each with low, medium or high fixed pressure.
• Depus: polysulfone valve with a ruby ball and titanium spring mechanism, in low, medium and high fixed pressures, plus adjustable valves in paediatric and adult sizes.

Adjustable Depus valves are read and set with the Depus Adjustment Kit, which has a locator, a compass and a magnet. It is a separate accessory, supplied non-sterile in a reusable case, in 3 Pressure and 5 Pressure versions. It is not part of the sterile shunt kit, so the hospital needs one on hand wherever adjustable valves are implanted or followed up. For a broader look at valve choice, see how teams evaluate a hydrocephalus shunt valve.

What should you check on the two catheters?

Both catheters are silicone and radiopaque, with tantalum length marks so their position can be followed on imaging.

• Ventricular catheter: 23 cm long, 1.3 mm inner and 2.5 mm outer diameter, tantalum marks at every centimetre from 5 to 15 cm, and 24 drainage holes in four rows of six in the proximal section.
• Peritoneal catheter: 120 cm long, 1.1 mm inner and 2.5 mm outer diameter, tantalum marks at every centimetre from 5 to 20 cm, and drainage holes along four rows at the proximal end.
• Colour: standard catheters are white; antibiotic-impregnated catheters are orange. The colour is a quick visual check that the configuration matches the order.

What do the stylet and right-angled connector do?

The stylet is a thin, stiff guide placed inside the ventricular catheter. It gives the soft silicone enough support to be passed along its planned path, and it is removed once the catheter is in place. Technique and the moment of removal follow the surgeon’s practice and the instructions for use.

The right-angled connector is DESU’s L-type catheter connector. It guides the ventricular or peritoneal catheter at an appropriate angle without kinking or clogging, and it organises the connection between the ventricular catheter and the valve. For more on this component, see the key advantages of L-type catheter connectors.

Which optional components can be added?

• Antisiphon device: optional on Defit, Decurve and Depus VP kits. It is designed to close immediately against the siphon effect that can occur when the peritoneal catheter moves from horizontal to vertical. Kits that include it have a reference code ending in “-ASD”.
• Reservoir (Depus): an antisiphon device and a reservoir can both be added to Depus kits according to clinical need. The Decurve valve already has a reservoir in its body.

Options change the kit code and the line item, so they should be agreed with the surgeon before the order is placed rather than at the time of the case.

How are antibiotic-impregnated kits configured?

In DESU antibiotic-impregnated components, the antibiotic is impregnated into the material and released in a controlled manner over 28 days. The configurations differ by family:

• Defit: impregnation of the valve body only, semi-antibiotic kits (standard valve with antibiotic-impregnated catheters) or full-antibiotic kits (impregnated valve body and impregnated catheters).
• Decurve: standard, semi-antibiotic-impregnated and full-antibiotic-impregnated systems.
• Depus: standard VP kits, or configurations with antibiotic-impregnated ventricular and peritoneal catheters; adjustable Depus kits can also have an impregnated valve body.

How is the kit supplied?

DESU shunt systems are supplied for single use and sterilised by ethylene oxide. They are CE marked and manufactured under ISO 13485 in DESU’s own cleanrooms in Ankara, Türkiye. Single use means the kit is opened for one patient and not reprocessed; anything left over is handled according to the hospital’s procedures and the instructions for use.

A receiving and pre-case checklist

• Family and valve: Defit, Decurve or Depus, with the size ordered.
• Pressure: low, medium or high, or the adjustable version.
• Suffix: “-ASD” present only if an antisiphon device was ordered.
• Antibiotic configuration: standard (white catheters) or impregnated (orange), and for Defit and Decurve, semi or full.
• Packaging: sterile barrier intact and within the date on the label.
• Accessories: Depus Adjustment Kit available if an adjustable valve is planned.
• Catheters only: if the order was for catheters without a valve, the item is the separate ventriculoperitoneal catheter kit, which has the same two catheters, a stylet and a right-angled connector.

Talk to a DESU product specialist

If you are standardising shunt kits across theatres or want to check a configuration before ordering, DESU’s product specialists can walk through the options with you. Write to sales@desu.tr, use the contact page, or request a quote.