Flying with a VP shunt?

[XoBLoNDiE85]

Suppose to go on vacation for a week in september....what have you guys exp with flying with VP shunts? Are they affected? I have seen (when i google) that some are.....

[eng188]

I live in Pennsylvania, and am about to move cross country. I also have family from Vancouver to Philly and down to San Diego. I have logged tens of thousands of miles on airplanes with no problem. I have a right side VP that was last revised in 1988, 21 years ago.

Honestly, I have not read much on shunts and their potential problems, so I don't know about complications with regard to travelling.

[Scott-V.]

We just moved from Germany. All the doctors told us for our son was to get as direct a flight as possible to try and avoid to many ups and down in the pressure do to flying. We took a straight flight to Seattle and he has had no problems at all.

[XoBLoNDiE85]

Hannah shunt is also on the right side with 1 revision last december at 4 1/2 months old. so flying is ok?

[eng188]

All I'm saying is I've never personally had any problems flying. Even in an unpressurized Cessna over Seattle in 1991. Doesn't mean problems don't happen, but I'm not sure the nature of such problems.

I'll add that I'm not sure when my very first flight was in my life, or where it was to (it was from San Diego, and back, and most of my family lived in Ohio and MO at the time).

[Summer25]

I have flown both with a VP and a VA shunt without issues. The cabins are pressurized, so it shouldn't be a problem. I get a little dizzy, but nothing bad.

[joybell322]

Lizzie has flown several times without affecting her shunt at all. The pressurized cabins make them feel as if they were on the ground, I believe.

What does affect them is altitude. We live in New York & drove through Colorado a couple of years ago. We drove through the mountains & topped out at something like 12,000 feet. Lizzie screamed "My head, my head" for literally 3-4 hours until we could get her to a more normal altitude. I had no idea it would affect her shunt! I asked her neuro about it when we got home & he said the change in altitude would definitely affect the pressure. I felt horrible, so I just thought I'd pass that on.

[Dodger67]

12000 feet is 50% higher than the maximum equivalent altitude that an airliner is pressurised (8000ft).

At what altitude did your trip start and how quickly did you reach the height where she started complaining?

[joybell322]

she started complaining around 8,000 (I'm guessing) & screaming around 10,000 ft (guessing again). She screamed for a solid 2 1/2- 3 hours as we made our way through a pass - in a snow storm! Yes, I felt like an idiot afterward, but she was okay again after we crossed that 8,000ish barrier.

[XoBLoNDiE85]

Thanks for the replys guys...i feel better! So i guess we will go thru with the trip then =)

[Barb]

That is interesting. We live in Colorado so our normal altitude is about 6,000 ft (we are a little higher up than the city at 5280). We ski at 12,000 feet and it has never once bothered him. Have been up as high as 14,000. We were sicker than he was :) I was really worried about it when we moved here. I think it is probably so individual and probably he is much more used to the mountains. There are lots of kids with shunts that do the same ski program so perhaps it is that the change in altitude is not that dramatic for us?? Yikes, I know what being stuck on that pass in a storm is like, add a kid in pain in there and oh my!

No problems flying either

[ollieholmes]

I think the problem with flying is the rapid pressure change. I dont know numbers but a body would find it alot easier to adjust to the pressure change when walking or in a car as it would only me a few feet a minuite. Compare that to a light aeroplane which would climb in the region of 800-1000ft a minuite.

But again when i am talking light aeroplanes i am talking aeroplanes with 2-6 seats and one engine size. The kind of aeroplane you go on holiday in does have a pressurised cabin so the pressure remains the same roughly as on the ground.