Peroral extrusion of ventriculoperitoneal shunt: a case report and review of the literature.

Abstract

Introduction ▼ Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting is a well-established treatment for hydrocephalus. However, high rates of complications (24 – 47 % ) have been reported and abdominal complications alone account for approximately 25 % of them. The incidence of bowel perforation by a shunt catheter is estimated to be 0.01 – 1 % of all shunting procedures. We present the case of an 8-month-old baby who had peroral extrusion of the distal end of a VP shunt tube. To the best of our knowledge, only 7 such cases have been reported in the literature. This report illustrates the pathology of the perforation with a brief review of management for such cases.