 Shunt surgery was introduced in 1949; initially, ventriculoperitoneal shunts were used. In 1971, good results were reported with lumboperitoneal shunting. Negative reports on shunting in the 1980s led to a brief period (1988 – 1993) during which optic nerve fenestration (which had initially been described in an unrelated condition in 1871) was more popular. Since then, shunting is recommended predominantly, with occasional exceptions.
